SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – An all-around scoring effort powered the Skidmore College men's basketball team to a thrilling 91-87 victory over Middlebury at the Williamson Sports Center on Friday evening.

The Thoroughbreds (1-1) shot a pristine 27-of-53 from the field, a red-hot 12-of-23 from deep and went 25-of-34 from the foul line, as four starters chipped in with at least 14 points. Junior Charlie Fantom led the scoring with a game-high 22 points on seven made-threes, and junior captain Aidan Roy tacked on 21 points with seven assists. Roy sealed the win with a pair of clutch free throws, securing Skidmore's first victory over the Panthers (0–1) since 2015 and snapping a seven-game skid in the series.

"We were all disappointed in the how we played last weekend against Plattsburgh. As Coaches and Players, we all took ownership this week to make sure that doesn't happen again. We might not win every game, but we are always accountable for our effort and execution," said head coach Joe Burke.

"Tonight, we played to our standard.  It wasn't perfect but we know we are capable of beating very good teams like we did tonight. Middlebury is a hell of a program, and they will win plenty of games but tonight was about us. We fought for 40 minutes and when things were not going right, we responded, which is what we struggled with the last two years as we were growing. It was a group effort, proud of the guys but we need to carry this forward now that we know what we are capable of."

HOW IT HAPPENED

• After a back-and-forth start to the game, the Thoroughbreds strung together a 12-3 scoring run to take a 29-21 lead at the 7:08 mark of the first half, and never relented by maintaining a 43-37 lead heading into intermission.
• At halftime, senior Joey Skoric led the scoring column with 11 points while freshman Jacob Gooden chipped in with nine points to cap a promising first half for the Skidmore offense.
• The Panthers came out with an emphasis in the second half by outscoring the Thoroughbreds, 24-10, to flip the script and take a commanding 61-53 lead at the 13:03 mark of the half.
• Looking for a spark, Fantom flipped the momentum back to Skidmore by drilling three-consecutive three-pointers, before a Roy layup in transition capped off an electric 11-0 scoring run to give the lead back to the Thoroughbreds at 64-61 with 10:43 to go.
• With the game suddenly up in the air, both teams traded buckets down the stretch with the Thoroughbreds getting key buckets that included a pair of threes from Fantom and a clutch layup from Gooden at the 2:02 mark to extend Skidmore's narrow lead to 85-82.
• Holding a two-point lead entering the final minute of regulation, Roy stepped up by scoring the final six points for Skidmore – all from the foul line, including the game-clinching free throws to put the Thoroughbreds up by four points with one second left.

STANDOUT THOROUGHBREDS

• Fantom led the scoring with 22 points on seven made three-pointers, alongside a team-best seven rebounds.
• Roy tallied 21 points and a team-high seven assists, while knocking down all ten free throw attempts.
• Skoric finished with 16 points, six rebounds and three blocks.
• Gooden scored 14 points with three assists, two steals and two blocks.

UP NEXT
The Thoroughbreds will wrap up the three-game homestand by hosting Western Connecticut State next Wednesday at 7 PM.