ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. - It was a nightmare, but it was real.
The Bard College men's basketball team was playing a winless team which didn't have it's top scorer, and they were losing.
The Raptors got behind by as much as 16 in the first half and 10 in the second half. Then something clicked.
A season's worth of frustration came pouring out as Bard rallied to defeat NYU-Poly, 57-54, for its first win of the season.
Fans and players mobbed the court as the final horn, and the celebration continued throughout the Stevenson Gymnasium long after the fans had left.
It wasn't easy.
Bard trailed for most of the night and finally tied the score at 46-46 on a layup by freshman
Anton Popov (Tel Aviv, Israel) with just over five minutes to go.
The Fighting Blue Jays (0-13 overall, 0-9 Skyline) got the lead back, but sophomore Frank Stortini (Red Hook, NY) hit a jumper to tie it at 48-48, then a three-pointer with 4:17 left to give Bard a 51-48 lead it wouldn't relinquish.
Still, it took a pair of clutch free throws by junior
Yonah Greenstein (Rego Park, NY) with 11 seconds left to give Bard a 57-54 lead. It took a strong defensive effort on NYU-Poly's next possession, and a smart foul by junior
Matt Shubert (West Chester, PA) to secure the victory.
NYU-Poly was unable to get a shot off before Shubert's foul came with less than one second left. John Martin (Brooklyn, NY) needed to make the first foul shot, then purposely miss the second for NYU-Poly to have a chance, but he missed the first, and Shubert rebounded the second miss to set off the celebration.
NYU-Poly got 17 points from senior Eddie Johnson and 12 points and 10 rebounds from senior Jason Buckner. The Fighting Blue Jays likely lost the game at the foul line, going 8-for-25.
Stortini led Bard (1-12, 1-7 Skyline) with 18 points - 15 of which came in the second half - seven rebounds and seven steals. Shubert and Greenstein added 12 points apiece.
Bard will go for two in a row on Saturday at home in another Skyline Conference game against Sage at 4.
