POUGHKEEPSIE, NY – Despite a career-high 26 points from junior Nick Padilla, the Skidmore College men's basketball team saw a furious second-half rally fall just short in a 82-75 defeat at Vassar on Tuesday evening.

The Thoroughbreds (9-10, 5-7 Liberty League) trailed by as much as 19 points midway into the second period, before launching a furious 22-11 run over the following eight minutes slashed the Brewers (14-5, 10-2 Liberty League) into the single digits with 90 seconds on the clock, but it proved too little too late as Vassar held on in the final seconds.

"I thought we had opportunities in the first half after a hot start to build on the lead but unfortunately we let the momentum get away from us. Going into halftime down 6 as opposed to up by five or so really hurt. The 2nd half these guys continued to battle their butts off though, and I'm proud of them for that. We scrambled enough where we were one possession away from making it super tight in the last minute," said head coach Joe Burke.
 
"Look, these guys know what we're up against down the stretch. We have six games left. We're obviously missing an important piece right now, but there's enough in this locker-room to get this done.

"We just have to be more detailed oriented and build on the things we did well but also button up the things we struggled with. We have nothing to be ashamed about, we lost to a good team on the road and this group will learn from it"

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Thoroughbreds kicked off the game with energy, building an early 20-16 lead over the Brewers with 8:56 left in the half as junior Aidan Roy led the way offensively with nine points during the opening stretch.
• Playing close throughout the latter stages of the first half, the Brewers regained the lead and built an advantage of up to six before a Skidmore response—capped by a Charlie Fantom three-pointer with 3:08 remaining—cut the deficit to one, though Vassar answered with a pair of jumpers to take a 38–32 lead into halftime.
• At halftime, Roy led Skidmore with a dozen points, while Fantom and Padilla both scored seven each.
• Coming out of intermission, Skidmore came out sharp by pulling to within five points, 43-38, at the 17:30 mark following a pair of Padilla layups and Jack LaGarde bucket.
• Vassar responded with a 24-10 run to extend the lead up to the largest margin of the game, 67-48, with 9:46 on the clock to seemingly pull away for good.
• Unrelenting, the Thoroughbreds countered with an extensive 22-11 run of their own to pull within three possessions, 78-70, with 1:30 left in regulation. Freshman Will Wertz led the comeback bid with seven points during the stretch, while senior Joey Skoric added on six of his own.
• However, despite getting a defensive stop on the following possession, Skidmore was unable to capitalize and cut further into the deficit as Vassar knocked down a game of game-sealing free throws with 24 seconds to go.
• Skidmore showed effort throughout the night, winning the rebounding margin, 34-28, while also dominating in second chance points with a staggering 21-2 advantage.

STANDOUT THOROUGHBREDS

• Padilla scored 26 points to go with three rebounds and one assist
• Roy tallied 16 points with two assists and two steals.
• Fantom scored ten points with five rebounds.
• Skoric recorded a near double-double with ten points and nine rebounds.

UP NEXT
Skidmore is back on the road Friday evening in a 7:30 PM matchup at Union.