ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. - Bard's last three Liberty League games before Friday night had given the Raptors reason for optimism. They were in games. They were competing, and in the case of the last game against RPI, they led in the second half.

On Friday night, though, that didn't happen.

The Raptors got behind early, clawed back to within striking distance late in the first half, then got blown out by Union, 82-46.

Box score

Bard (3-15 overall, 1-9 Liberty League) was down 9-0 and fought back to make it 13-6. They got down 19-8, then eventually cut the lead to 32-25 with 5:13 remaining in the half. That's when it all came apart.

A 13-2 run over the next five minutes gave Union an 18-point halftime lead, and the Dutchmen shot 57 percent from the field in the second half to put away the Raptors. The game was never really close.

Union (13-6, 6-5) enjoyed a huge advantage on the boards (48-27), and Bard had a terrible shooting night - 27 percent from the field, including 5-for-23 from beyond the three-point line. They'll have to get it together quickly, because Skidmore (12-6, 6-3) comes to Annandale on Saturday afternoon needing to beat Bard to maintain its status in the playoff picture.

Union's leading scorer, junior Keven Donohue (Hudson Falls, NY) had early foul trouble and finished with eight points and nine rebounds in 20 minutes of action. But it didn't matter. Junior Joe Mason (Chicago, IL) had 19 points, six rebounds and five assists, sophomore Keith Callies (San Antonio, TX) had 15 points and five rebounds, and senior Rusmir Dzanko (Essex Junction, VT) added 14 points and six rebounds.

Bard got 10 points and nine rebounds from freshman Jose Canario, and although ten players scored, nobody else reached double figures. Senior Matt Shubert came the closest with eight points.

The Raptors' game with Skidmore on Saturday afternoon begins at 4 p.m.