Box Score
ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. - Somehow, both teams had managed to virtually eliminate any offensive production from each other's top scorers.

So that left it up to everybody else, and it turned out to be a real nail-biter in front of a boisterous crowd.

Rochester Institute of Technology outscored Bard, 8-0, over the last 4:30 of the game to pull out a 55-49 Liberty League win on Friday night.

It was a defensive battle from the opening tip. RIT had an eight-point lead at one point in the first half, but the Raptors trimmed it to 25-23 by halftime. Nobody was getting a good look at the basket, and both team's leading scorers - Bard's Lamar Powell and RIT's Jameel Balenton - were held to two points apiece in the first half.

The Raptors opened the second half on an 8-2 run to take a 31-27 lead, but RIT pushed back and led 40-36 with 9:57 to go in the game. It stayed tight and Bard took what would be its last lead, 49-47, with 4:30 left after a steal and layup by freshman Alex Fabean-Scotch.

RIT's Kamron Davis (Syracuse, NY) tied the game at 49-49, and Bard's next three possessions went turnover, missed three-pointer and turnover. A jumper from J.P. Reagan (Cortland, NY) with 1:40 left made it 51-49, and that was the score when Powell went to the line for a one-and-one opportunity with 1:10 left.

He missed, and Davis provided the dagger on RIT's next possession. With Bard scrambling defensively and pressuring the ball everywhere, the sophomore ended up having to take a twisting, off-balance shot from about 14 feet as the shot clock expired. It banked in, and the Tigers led, 53-49, with 36 seconds to go.

Bard missed a pair of shots in close on its next possession, Balenton made two free throws, and the game was over. Powell and Balenton finished with four points apiece.

Davis led RIT (7-4, 1-1 Liberty League) with 18 points and 16 rebounds. Senior Gabe Nicasio (Essex Junction, NY) added 13 points and Reagan added 10. RIT plays at Vassar tomorrow at 4.

Bard (5-6, 0-2 Liberty League) got 10 points and 11 rebounds from Siondueh Burnette, and 10 points apiece from Brandon Cunningham and Fabean-Scotch.

The Raptors host defending Liberty League champion Hobart on Saturday at 4. Follow that game via Live Stats or Live Video right here.