SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – Junior captain Aidan Roy hit a clutch stepback three-pointer to guide the Skidmore College men's basketball team to a nail-biting 74-68 victory over RIT in the Liberty League home opener at the Williamson Sports Center on Friday evening.

Despite trailing for most of the game, the Thoroughbreds (4-2, 1-0 Liberty League) never allowed the game to get out of hand by hitting timely shots and stepped up with a brilliant defensive second half that limited the Tigers (1-4, 0-1 Liberty League) to a mere 8-of-28 shooting from the field.

Freshman Jacob Gooden finished with a game-high 20 points, while juniors Charlie Fantom and Hakeem Daphnis chipped on 14 points each to keep Skidmore in the game and setting up for Roy's late-game heroics.

"Really good job by the guys defensively in the second half. That is two games in a row that we went into halftime disappointed in how we guarded the other team. You have to credit RIT; I thought they came out and got comfortable and made shots. I was proud of our resilience and the guy's ability to make adjustments in the second half, especially in the last few minutes. Offensively we had really good balance and we made some key plays when needed," said head coach Joe Burke.

"Every conference win is important and you have to defend your home court. We did that tonight and have to gear up for another tough test against Ithaca tomorrow. We are continuing to improve and learning to play together which is what I want to see right now."

HOW IT HAPPENED

• It was a back-and-forth start to the game as both teams were tied at 16-16 with 13:04 on the clock, with the Thoroughbreds being led by six early points from Gooden and five from Daphnis.
• However, the Tigers mounted a 12-2 scoring run to suddenly lead by double digits, 28-18, at the 9:04 mark.
• The Thoroughbreds mounted a late half comeback in the final 6:18, with a pair of three-pointers from senior Joey Skoric and Fantom kickstarting a 14-7 close to pull Skidmore within one possession, 42-39, at intermission.
• At halftime, Fantom led Skidmore with a team-high 11 points on a trio of three-pointers made.
• The Tigers made the first push out of intermission by hitting a trio of three-pointers to regain a double-digit lead, 51-41, with 16:47 on the clock.
• Skidmore managed to cut the deficit down to a single possession on multiple occasions, before finally breaking even after Daphnis and Fantom hit back-to-back threes to tie the game at 61-61 apiece with 6:52 to go,
• Soon after, the Thoroughbreds gained its first lead of the second half after Skoric knocked down a pair of free throws at the 4:33 mark.
• After both teams traded buckets down the stretch, Roy stepped up with 1:26 left by hitting a clutch stepback three-pointer to put Thoroughbreds up by four and ultimately proving to be the difference as Skidmore converted on all four foul shots down the stretch to hold on for the victory.

STANDOUT THOROUGHBREDS

• Gooden scored a game-best 20 points with four assists and two steals.
• Fantom added on 14 points to go with six rebounds.
• Daphnis scored a season-high 14 points.
• Skoric recorded a double-double after scoring 10 points with 10 rebounds.
• Roy scored six points to o with four rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block.

UP NEXT
The Thoroughbreds will wrap up the weekend home stand by hosting Ithaca tomorrow at the Williamson Sports Center. Tipoff is set for 4 PM.