SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – A last second three-pointer to force overtime couldn't drop as the Skidmore College men's basketball team lost in a heart-breaking 69-66 manner to Union at the Williamson Sports Center on Friday evening.

Sophomore Aidan Roy's career-high 27 points was not enough as the Thoroughbreds (5-13, 1-10 Liberty League) couldn't convert on two quality game-tying looks in the final seconds, allowing the Garnet Chargers (9-9, 5-6 Liberty League) to escape with the hard-fought victory.

"That one is difficult to swallow for all of us. I thought we played well enough to win the game but again we couldn't close it out," said head coach Joe Burke. "We had plenty of opportunities we just didn't make the plays we needed to in the second half."

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Roy came out the game firing by scoring the first 11 points for the Thoroughbreds, before three-consecutive made buckets from junior Joey Skoric helped the team take an early 18-7 lead with 14:17 on the clock.
• Skidmore maintained the double-digit advantage for much of the first half, as a Charlie Fantom driving layup with 55 seconds remaining gave the home team a 40-30 lead. At intermission, Roy led all scorers with 18 first half points.
• Coming out of halftime, Union quickly got back into the match by tying the game at 49-apiece with 14:07 remaining and setting up a dramatic back-and-forth finish that included nine total lead changes mixed with three ties the rest of the way.
• Facing a 64-60 deficit with five-minutes left in crunch time, the Thoroughbreds retook the lead after consecutive three-pointers from Roy and sophomore Hakeem Daphnis made it 66-64 with 4:20 left.
• However, the Garnet Chargers punched back with a clutch three-pointer of their own following a made free-throw to retake the lead, 68-66 with 1:02 on the clock, before forcing a Skidmore turnover seconds later to get back possession of the ball.
• Down by two with 50 seconds left, the Thoroughbreds forced a clutch defensive stop after a Joey Skoric block ultimately resulted in a shot clock violation with 20 seconds left. Immediately on the other end, Daphnis created the game-tying opportunity for himself after making a strong drive to the rim, but the layup rolled in-and-out before being secured by Union.
• Skidmore got one final chance to force overtime after Union's Brendan Reid missed one of two free throws with eight seconds left. Down by three, Roy pushed the ball up court and launched up the potential equalizing three, but it didn't fall through as time ran out.

STANDOUT THOROUGHBREDS

• Roy's career-high 27 points came on a pristine 9-of-18 shooting from the field and a red-hot 6-of-11 from downtown. The sophomore also recorded four assists, three rebounds and a block.
• Skoric had a noteworthy statline after compiling 11 points to go with nine rebounds, four blocks and three steals.
• Daphnis finished with 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from downtown to go with three rebounds.

UP NEXT
The Thoroughbreds are back in action on Sunday by hosting RPI at the Williamson Sports Center for a 2 PM showdown.