POUGHKEEPSIE, NY – The Skidmore College men's basketball team dropped 51 second-half points to secure a much-needed first conference victory after defeating Vassar in a high-scoring 92-81 affair on Tuesday evening.

Scoring the most points in a game since recording 99 points against Ithaca back in 2022, the Thoroughbreds (5-10, 1-7 Liberty League) led from the opening tip and never relented as the team shot a pristine 61.8 percent from the field and 58.8 percent from downtown to take down a talented Brewers (9-6, 5-3 Liberty League) squad.

Four players (Hakeem Daphnis, Aidan Roy, Joey Skoric, Charlie Fantom) reached double-digit scoring marks to lead the way in the victory.

"We have been pointing towards an effort like this and we got it tonight. That was 40 minutes of Skidmore basketball against a really explosive, well coached team on the road. I'm happy for the guys because this was overdue," said head coach Joe Burke. "We have been in the fight till the end in most of our games and it was time to turn the corner. Now the key is to continue to get healthy and build on it as every game in this league is a battle.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Starting out the gates with hot shooting, the Thoroughbreds quickly built a double-digit lead by jumping out on top 19-9 at the 12:25 after a midrange jumper from junior transfer Charlie Weisberg.
• The Brewers would respond with a 13-5 scoring run to cut the lead down to a lone possession, 24-22, and get back into the game at the 8:32 mark.
• That proved the closest the home team would get in the half, as Skidmore pushed the lead back to double-digits, 41-31, with 1:15 remaining before settling for a 41-36 advantage heading into halftime.
• The Skidmore sophomore trio of Jack LaGarde, Fantom and Roy all led the team with eight first at intermission.
• To begin the second half, the Thoroughbreds attempted to hold off a determined Vassar team that aimed to make a game-swinging run. In the stretch, Daphnis scored nine straight Thoroughbred points to help the team maintain a 52-47 lead at the 14:51 mark.
• After Vassar cut the lead once again down to two points, 62-60, with 9:49 to go, the Thoroughbreds went on a 13-2 run that saw the road team take a commanding 75-62 team lead with over five minutes of game time left.
• The game was far from over, however, as the Brewers were able to once again pull within a lone possession at the 2:21 mark.
• Needing to come up big in the clutch, Skidmore got just that in a sequence that saw Daphnis hit a three, Fantom make a layup and another midrange jumper from Daphnis to ice the game at 86-79 with a mere 38 seconds to go.

STANDOUT THOROUGHBREDS

• Daphnis scored a game-high 23 points to go with five rebounds and a pair of steals. 18 of his points came in the second half alone.
• Skoric filled the stat sheets by recording a 15-point, 14-rebound double-double to go with three blocks.
• Roy finished with 18 points and shot a perfect 4-for-4 from the three-point line.
• Fantom rounded out the double-digit scoring quartet by chipping in 10 points with five rebounds.
• Playing his first major minutes of the season, Weisberg made an impact off the bench with nine points on 3-of-5 shooting.

UP NEXT
Skidmore is back home at the Williamson Sports Center this Friday by hosting Bard for a 7:30 PM matchup.