SCHENECTADY, NY – The Skidmore College men's basketball team fell to Union, 80-62, on Friday evening.

The Thoroughbreds (9-11, 5-8 Liberty League) battled through the opening half, knocking down six three-pointers and answering multiple scoring runs by the Garnet Chargers (16-4, 11-2 Liberty League) to stay within striking distance, but Union found another gear after the break, shooting 16-of-32 from the field in the second half to pull away
 
"Needed to bring our 'A' game tonight and we came up on short of that. I thought we fought for most of the game but Union is a very good basketball team with good players and we need more guys to step up in that situation," said head coach Joe Burke.
 
"We have no time to feel sorry for ourselves. There are five games left in the regular season and our playoffs start tomorrow. We have control of our destiny but we are going to have to work really hard to get where we want to go."

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Union opened the game on a 11-2 run to force an early Skidmore timeout, before the Thoroughbreds answered with a quick 8-2 spurt that was fueled by a pair of Charlie Weisberg three-pointers to pull within one possession, 13-10, at the 9:40 mark of the half.
• The game continued to swing back and forth as the Garnet Chargers countered with another quick 10-2 run, building the game's first double-digit lead over the Thoroughbreds, 23-12, with 6:49 on the clock.
• Skidmore responded once again, closing the gap to a lone possession with a 13–4 run led by six points from junior Nick Padilla and five from fellow junior Aidan Roy, trimming the deficit to 27–25 at the 4:17 mark.
• Facing a 39–32 deficit at intermission, Skidmore shot just 12-of-30 from the field in the opening half but connected on 6-of-15 from three-point range to stay within striking distance, as Roy led the way with nine points and Padilla added on eight.
• It was largely Garnet Chargers throughout the second half as Union quickly extended the Skidmore deficit to double digits before pulling ahead by as many as 16 points, leading 64-48 with 9:50 on the clock.
• The Thoroughbreds attempted to mount a comeback and trimmed the deficit to single digits, 68-60, with 4:03 remaining in the game. Junior Jack LaGarde made a pair of buckets to lead the 12-4 run, while Roy capped the run with a big three-pointer.
• However, it wasn't enough as Union responded by restoring its double-digit cushion and closing out the game in the final minutes.

STANDOUT THOROUGHBREDS

• LaGarde finished with 12 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks, recording his first double-double of the season and fourth of his career.
• Roy led the team with 14 points and six assists.
• Padilla scored 12 points with three assists.

UP NEXT
Skidmore rounds out the weekend road trip with a 4 PM road matchup at Bard tomorrow.