SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – The Skidmore College men's basketball team lost by an 88-69 final margin to Ithaca at the Williamson Sports Center on Saturday afternoon.

First half rebounding and foul shot disparities quickly placed the Thoroughbreds (5-12, 1-9 Liberty League) in a double-digit deficit entering halftime, and hot perimeter shooting in the second half from the Bombers (10-6, 7-2 Liberty League) proved to be the nail in the coffin of a lopsided defeat.

"First and foremost, I want to thank our Alumni and fans who, through great times and tough times, are super supportive of this program. It was another terrific turnout for our Alumni Day. I am so fortunate to have Coached so many great players who are great people and who hung a lot of banners on that wall. I have tremendous pride in what we have built and how we have built it," said head coach Joe Burke.

"As for the game, I thought we had chances early to set a tone and get the game played the way we needed it to go. Unfortunately, at about the 12-minute mark of the first half we started to have way too many individual and collective breakdowns that allowed Ithaca to find a rhythm and once they get it going, they become a very tough team to stop."

"This program is built on being able to compete on both ends of the floor," Burke continues. "Right now, we are playing like a team that wants to outscore you, and we don't have that kind of ability to do that on a nightly basis. It is my responsibility to find the guys that can get it done on the defensive end because that will allow us to win championships going forward and not just games here and there."

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Thoroughbreds kept things close for the first five minutes of the game when a Joey Skoric three-pointer tied things up at 12 apiece at the 14:54 mark.
• However, an immediate 9-0 spurt from the Bombers that soon turned into an extensive 22-7 scoring run as the road team knocked down four three-pointers to take a 34-19 lead with 5:27 remaining in the half.
• A solid close to the first half prevented the game from completely getting out of hand as a pair of Aidan Roy driving layups mixed with a Dillon McCafferty three-pointer, alongside contributions from others, kept the deficit to 44-32 at intermission.
• Entering halftime, Skidmore found themselves outrebounded by a 22-14 margin and conceding 11 free throws to just two of their own. Sophomore Hakeem Daphnis led with a team-high 10 first half points.
• Ithaca quickly took an 18-point advantage coming out of the second half as the Bombers scored six-straight before outscoring Skidmore 16-10 to take a 60-42 lead at the 13:53 mark.
• The Thoroughbreds attempted to get back into the match with a 7-0 scoring burst to cut the deficit down to a more manageable 60-49 with 12:10 left, but the Bombers never relented and held off Skidmore's efforts by eventually taking a 20-point advantage late in the half.

STANDOUT THOROUGHBREDS

• Skoric finished with his fifth double-double of the season, as well as his fifth consecutive double-digit rebounding game, after recording 13 points with a game-high 13 rebounds to go with two blocks.
• Weisberg once again provided a spark off the bench by finishing with 13 points on 3-of-7 shooting from downtown.
• Daphnis added on 10 points to go with two assists and three rebounds.

UP NEXT
The Thoroughbreds continues the home stand next Friday by hosting Union in a 7:30 PM matchup.