ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. - Trailing by eight at halftime and by 10 with about 11 minutes left in the game, the Bard College men's basketball team made a run, tied the game, and eventually lost to Skyline Conference foe Mount Saint Mary College, 66-61, on Thursday night.

Mount Saint Mary, currently in second place in the conference, had won nine of its last 10 conference games in its charge up the standings. But Bard just wouldn't go away, and there were definitely some sweaty palms on the Mount Saint Mary bench in the final minutes.

The Raptors (1-17 overall, 1-12 Skyline) got down by as many as 13 in the second half, then started chipping away at the lead. The Knights' lead went from 13 with 12 minutes left, to seven with eight minutes left, to two with about six minutes left when freshman Ben Kane (Rockville, MD) hit his third three-pointer of the second half.

Senior Christian Marghella (Closter, NJ) grabbed a long rebound and went all the way for a fastbreak layup to tie the game, 53-53, with 5:21 to go, and Stevenson Gymnasium was getting loud.

Bard's next few possessions didn't go well, though. Two turnovers, a missed three-pointer and some fouls put Mount Saint Mary at the line, and again the Knights took the lead, 61-57 with 1:21 remaining.

A long three-pointer from junior Matt Shubert (West Chester, PA) gave Bard more hope with nine seconds left to make it 64-61, but freshman Donte Howell (Baldwin, NY) calmly made two free throws with seven seconds left to secure the win for the Knights.

Freshman Joe Stabach (Staten Island, NY) led Mount Saint Mary with 17 points, but he was held to just three in the second half. Senior Tim Morris (Greenwich, NY) added 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Bard got 12 points from sophomore Frank Stortini (Red Hook, NY) and 10 points apiece from Marghella and junior Yonah Greenstein (Rego Park, NY). Shubert finished with nine points and six rebounds.

Bard will be on the road Saturday for another Skyline Conference game at Farmingdale State at 3 p.m.