CANTON, N.Y. - Amid murmurs of a possible playoff berth for the Bard College men's basketball team in the last couple of weeks, what's been lost in the excitement is this truth: Bard went 0-16 in the Liberty League last season.

Friday night, Bard had an opportunity to step into a stronger position to make a run for the fourth and final Liberty League playoff spot, but the Raptors fell to St. Lawrence, 77-73, in a thriller.

The Raptors, 9-11 overall and 4-7 in the Liberty League, jumped out early and led for the entire first half. They shot 65 percent from the floor, outrebounded St. Lawrence 22-7, and had seven offensive boards on nine missed shots. It was 42-34 at the break, and St. Lawrence star Brady Condlin (Massena, NY) was held to two points on limited minutes because of two quick fouls.

The real difference in the game turned out to be fouls. After shooting just four free throws in the first 20 minutes, St. Lawrence shot 19 in the last 20 minutes. Bard picked up 10 fouls in 10 minutes, and the Saints were in the double-bonus halfway through the second half.

A 13-2 run eliminated Bard's lead, and St. Lawrence took it's first lead, 51-49, with 11:22 left in the game. The game went back and forth from there, with eight lead changes and six ties.

It was tied for the last time with 6:56 left, but an old-fashioned three-point play by Emmanuel Rainey gave Bard a 64-61 lead. Four consecutive foul shots gave the Saints a 65-65 lead, and in that stretch, Bard senior Siondueh Burnette fouled out with 4:49 left.

A three-pointer by Alex Fabean-Scotch - his sixth of the game - put Bard ahead, 67-65, but a Kaleb Faison (Atlanta, GA) three gave it back to St. Lawrence, 68-67, with 2:39 left. Bard didn't lead again.

A pair of Condlin free throws with 24 seconds left pushed St. Lawrence's lead to 74-71, and a layup by freshman DeVahnte Mosley made it 74-73 with 17 seconds left. Kyle Kobis' two free throws made it 76-73 with 13 seconds to go, and Rainey's three-pointer with six seconds left was just long. He got a good look at it, but it didn't fall.

Condlin and Kyle Edwards (Norwich, NY) finished with 19 points apiece for St. Lawrence. Total fouls were 23 for Bard, 14 for St. Lawrence, and the Saints made 21-of-27 on the night. Bard went 8-of-15.

Fabean-Scotch reminded everyone why he made the All-Rookie team last year with 23 points on 6-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc. Junior Brandon Cunningham had 21 points and 11 rebounds, 15 and eight of that in the first half.

Up next for Bard is a clash with Clarkson on Saturday afternoon at 4. Follow it live right here.