ITHACA, NY – Led by 42 combined points from senior Joey Skoric and junior Nick Padilla, the Skidmore College men's basketball team delivered a statement 91-83 road victory over Ithaca on Friday evening.

Moving one step closer to clinching home court in first round of the Liberty League Playoffs, the Thoroughbreds (13-11, 9-8 Liberty League) controlled the glass by a 51-to-37 margin and dominated in paint points, 42-to-26, to edge the Bombers (9-15, 8-9 Liberty League) in a competitive game that featured five ties and eight lead changes.

Heading into tomorrow's finale, Skidmore needs to defeat RIT alongside a Union victory over St. Lawrence to secure the fourth seed.

"Really great effort and second half execution by our guys tonight. Coming out here and winning is very difficult but our guys answered the challenge," said head coach Joe Burke.
 
"The goal is to keep this thing moving downhill, which is what we're doing right now. We got great momentum. We have one more regular season game to figure out our seed and then the playoffs. We're playing good basketball and we've kind of reinvented ourselves. I'm very proud of what the guys are doing together right now."

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Thoroughbreds jumped out to an early 8-0 lead behind a pair of three-pointers from junior Aidan Roy and a Skoric layup.
• After Ithaca trimmed the deficit to one, Skidmore responded with an 11-1 run, capped by back-to-back three-pointers from Charlie Fantom, to take a 19-8 lead at the 14:23 mark.
• The Bombers answered with a 22-10 surge to claim their first lead of the night, 30-29, with 4:59 remaining in the half, before Skidmore quickly regained control and carried a narrow 42-40 advantage into halftime.  
• Ithaca opened the second half strong, building its largest lead of the night at 60-55 before the Thoroughbreds erupted for a 19-6 run to reclaim momentum and take a 74-66 lead with 5:48 to play.
• The Bombers made one final push, tying the game at 77-77 with 2:38 remaining, before a Skoric and-one layup, followed by a Jack LaGarde block and layups from Padilla and Fantom, swung the momentum for good, giving Skidmore an 84-77 lead with 1:07 left.

STANDOUT THOROUGHBREDS

• Skoric recorded a double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds to go with three blocks.
• Padilla scored 21 points and grabbed four rebounds.
• Roy scored 16 points with six rebounds and four assists.
• LaGarde tallied 12 points to go with six rebounds and five blocks.
• Fantom scored eight points with three rebounds and a steal.

UP NEXT
The Thoroughbreds will conclude the regular season on the road tomorrow at RIT. Tip-off is set for 4 PM.