ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. - Bard College seniors Matt Shubert and Yonah Greenstein knew that on Saturday, they'd be playing in the final game of their college basketball careers.

So they did what any senior would do on such an occasion: They went out and each made their first four three-point attempts in the first half against RIT.

For Shubert and Greenstein, however, the game is more likely to be remembered for the way it ended, not the way it started.

RIT survived Bard's early barrage, came back to take the lead in the second half, then saw Bard respond and force overtime. In the overtime, RIT took the lead for good with 53 seconds left on an old-fashioned three-point play by sophomore Ronnie Canestro (Buffalo, NY), and Shubert's three-pointer bounded away at the buzzer, giving RIT a 76-73 victory.

Box score

Perhaps most telling was the disappointment on the faces of the Bard players after the game, who clearly are no longer interested in moral victories in the Liberty League.

RIT, 9-16 overall and 5-11 in the Liberty League, crushed Bard, 82-51, back on Jan. 20. But Bard came out firing on Saturday afternoon, making eight of their first eight three-pointers and grabbing a 27-17 lead with 9:55 left in the first half. The Tigers clawed their way back, cutting the lead to 37-33 at halftime.

Over the first 10 minutes of the second half, RIT kept coming and eventually took the lead, at one point stretching it to five (48-43) with 13:20 left in the game. The lead changed hands six times after that point, and it was tied four times, before Shubert's two free throws with 47 seconds left in the game tied it at 64-64.

RIT had two chances to win it in regulation, but sophomore Bob Schuster (Livonia, NY) missed a jumper with 26 seconds left, and junior Gabe Nicasio (Essex Junction, VT) grabbed the offensive rebound. After a timeout, Nicasio eventually turned the ball over with four seconds left and the game went to overtime.

In overtime, 6-foot-6 senior Brendan Harder (Oneonta, NY) scored inside on three straight possessions, and the Tigers had a five-point lead, 70-65, with 3:12 left in OT.

But Bard junior Frank Stortini and Shubert hit back-to-back three-pointers, giving Bard a 71-70 lead with 1:56 remaining.

A couple of possessions later, Canestro's three-point play game RIT the lead for good, 73-71. Nicasio hit a pair of free throws with 29 seconds left to make it 75-71, but Shubert hit two foul shots with 10 seconds left to cut the deficit to 75-73. Canestro was fouled with nine seconds to go and missed one, giving Bard a chance to tie on Shubert's desperation three at the buzzer.

Shubert finished with a career-high 29 points, and he added six rebounds, three assists, three steals and a blocked shot. Greenstein had 15 points, four rebounds and four assists, and Stortini added 12 points, three rebounds and three assists. The Raptors finish the season 5-20 overall, 2-14 in the Liberty League.

Harder had 20 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks for RIT, and Nicasio finished with 18 points.