SCHENECTADY, N.Y. - At some point, possibly in the near future, it'll not be such a surprise when the Bard College men's basketball team wins a Liberty League game.
Less than 24 hours after a humbling 63-37 loss to Skidmore, the Raptors shocked Union College, 78-77, in a Liberty League thriller at the Viniar Athletic Center. It is Bard's first Liberty League win over a team other than Vassar since joining the conference in the 2011-12 season.
Bard is 7-5 overall and 2-1 in the Liberty League. Union fell to 8-5 and 2-2.
Although the Raptors never trailed in the game, it got quite interesting in the final four minutes. After seeing a 15-point first half lead shrink to 39-33 at halftime, the Raptors had to fight off another Union surge early in the second half. Bard's lead was 41-39 just a few minutes in, but the Raptors scored seven straight points to get some more breathing room. Later, it was 50-42 with 13:44 to go.
The lead stayed between seven and 12 points from there, and it was 72-62 with four minutes left when all heck broke loose. Union put together a 10-0 run with pressure, making it 72-72 with 1:59 left.
A pair of free throws by
Brandon Cunningham made it 74-72, a layup from
Pat Kelly made it 76-72, but Union's Deshon Burgess (Scottdale, GA) made it 76-75 with a layup and foul shot with 58 seconds left.
Bard missed on its next possession. Union missed, grabbed the offensive rebound, and called time out with 25 seconds left. Burgess missed a layup with 14 seconds left, and although Union got a deadball rebound, Union's William Hython (Syracuse, NY) was called for a technical foul for calling a time out the Dutchmen did not have.
Alex Fabean-Scotch made both shots to make it 78-75. Union got off three shots in the final 14 seconds, including Hython's made jumper at the buzzer, but it wasn't enough.
Hython and Burgess finished with 19 points apiece, and Hython also grabbed 14 rebounds.
Everyone who played for Bard scored, led by
Siondueh Burnette (13 points),
DeVahnte Mosley (12 points) and Fabean-Scotch (10 points). Cunningham finished with nine points and nine rebounds, as the Raptors shot 54 percent from the field - following up their worst-shooting game of the season with their best.
Up next for the Raptors is their Liberty League home opener on Tuesday night at 8, when Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute visits. As was the case with Union, Bard has never beaten RPI in men's basketball.
Come out Tuesday night to see what happens.
