ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. - As if the frustration of having just one win this deep into the college basketball season wasn't enough, Bard is tortured by one painful truth:

They can play with these guys.

For the second time in two weeks, Bard brought a Skyline Conference contender to its knees, only to have the favorite escape with a narrow victory.

St. Joseph's College, which entered the day a 1/2-game out of first place in the Skyline Conference, defeated Bard, 59-57, after Matt Shubert's three-point attempt at the buzzer bounced harmlessly away.

Two weeks ago, Bard lost to Mount Saint Mary - the first-place team in the conference - 66-61.

Bard (1-19 overall, 1-12 Skyline) effectively slowed St. Joseph's down in the first half - something no team has been able to do so far this season - and held a 27-20 lead at halftime. St. Joseph's is currently second in the country in Div. III with a 92.6 points per game average.

The Golden Eagles (16-3, 12-2 Skyline) came out firing in the second half, bombing three-pointers and forcing turnovers to overtake Bard and grab the lead. The Raptors had a nine-point lead in the first minute of the second half, but St. Joseph's blew past Bard and had a 12-point lead with 9:12 left in the game.

The game appeared to be over.

Shubert (West Chester, PA) scored nine straight points - including a pair of three-pointers - to spur a Bard rally. With just under two minutes left, Shubert hit a pair of free-throws to cut the lead to one, and when sophomore Frank Stortini (Red Hook, NY) made a free throw with 1:28 left, the game was tied at 57-57.

St. Joseph's missed a three-pointer on its next possession, then so did Bard when Jeremy Arnstein's (Washington, DC) attempt when in and out with 39 seconds left. After a St. Joseph's time out, the Golden Eagles milked the clock down to about 11 seconds, and junior Oliver Laurent (Amityville, NY) made a  brilliant one-on-one move and made a driving layup with 6.9 seconds left.

Bard inbounded after another time out. Junior Yonah Greenstein (Rego Park, NY) brought the ball up court quickly and handed a pass to Shubert, who came off a screen and launched a three-pointer.

It was a good look, but it didn't go. The Raptors, who don't appear interested in moral victories at this point, walked dejectedly off the court.

St. Joseph's got 22 points from junior Chris Jiminez (Huntington Station, NY) and 11 points each from junior Vincent Russo (West Sayville, NY) and junior Trey Black (Bayport, NY).

Shubert led Bard with 17 points, eight rebounds and a block. Stortini finished with 14 points and five rebounds, and Greenstein had five points and six assists.

The Raptors host the College of Mount St. Vincent on Thursday at 8 p.m.

Box score