ROCHESTER, NY – Five double-digit scorers and critical defensive stops late helped the Skidmore College men's basketball team pull off the much-needed 88-85 victory over RIT to wrap up the weekend road trip on Saturday afternoon.

The Thoroughbreds (6-17, 2-14 Liberty League) were led offensively by a team-high 21 points from sophomore Hakeem Daphnis and defensively by a five-block performance from junior Joey Skoric, who made two crucial rejections in the final two minutes to shut down the Tigers (7-16, 3-13 RIT) on the road.

A major program milestone was also reached in the opening minute of the game, when Skoric recorded his 100th career block to become just the third Thoroughbred in program history to accomplish the defensive feat, joining his brother Greg Skoric (138) and Connor Merrill (212).

"I'm proud of the team, this has been a tough fight for us all season long. To the guys' credit, they have not lost faith and they understand we're working every day with a big picture in mind," said head coach Joe Burke.
 
"Plenty of wins to come down the road and although today was certainly a good win, this was more about us handling another tough loss last night and bouncing back with a collectively effort. So, I'll say this again, we got better today and we will continue to do so."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Holding a narrow 13-11 lead after the first five minutes, the Thoroughbreds pushed ahead into a double-digit lead following a quick 13-5 run to lead 26-16 at the 12:14 mark.
• The Tigers responded with an extensive 18-8 run of their own to tie the game up at 34-apiece with 4:31 left in the half.  
• Leading the Thoroughbreds with 10 points at intermission, sophomore Charlie Fantom knocked down a first half buzzer beater off the assist from Aidan Roy to give the road team a 49-40 advantage.
• When RIT made a run to start the second half, Daphnis helped to hold off the home team by scoring 12 points during the first 13 minutes of the half, including a three-pointer to put Skidmore back up 73-71 at the 7:27 mark after the Tigers retook the lead.
• With the game tied at 81-apiece, the Thoroughbreds went up ahead off a Jack LaGarde turnaround shot that was followed up by a Skoric three-pointer off the dish from Fantom to take an 86-82 lead with 2:40 left in the game.
• After the Tigers knocked down a big three-pointer to cut the lead down to a lone point, Skoric stepped up with consecutive blocks on the following RIT possessions to force an intentional foul of Roy with 15 seconds to go.
• Calmly knocking down both to go up by three points, the Thoroughbreds dug in for one last defensive stop to secure the 88-85 victory on the road.

STANDOUT THOROUGHBREDS

• Skoric finished with 14 points, eight rebounds and two assists to go with his five blocks.
• Daphnis scored his team-high 21 points on four made three-pointers.
• Fantom recorded 12 points, seven rebounds and two assists with a block.
• Roy had an all-around performance, finishing with 12 points, seven assists and five rebounds.
• LaGarde scored a season-high 16 points off the bench while also pulling down eight boards.

UP NEXT
Skidmore is back at the Williamson Sports Center next Friday to host St. Lawrence at 7:30 PM.