POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - The Bard College men's basketball team rallied from a nine-point deficit with nine minutes left, took a brief lead, and eventually lost to Vassar College, 72-69, in a tight Liberty League game on Wednesday night.

The victory kept Vassar alive in the playoff hunt at 12-12 overall, 8-7 in the Liberty League. Bard, which was eliminated from playoff contention last weekend, had a three-game winning streak snapped and fell to 9-15, 6-9.

Both teams shot 50 percent from the field in the first half, and Vassar had a 39-32 lead at halftime, thanks in large part to eight points off of eight Bard turnovers.

In the second half, the turnover difference evened out, Bard built a slight rebounding edge, and the Raptors got back into it. An 11-2 run, culminating with a put-back from freshman Armando Dunn, tied the game at 53-53 with 6:35 to go. DeVahnte Mosley hit a driving layup on Bard's next possession, and the Raptors had the lead, 55-53, for the first time since 7-6 five minutes into the contest.

A three-pointer from Harry Johnson gave Bard a 58-55 lead with 5:04 remaining, but Vassar tied it up about 30 seconds later, then took a 64-60 lead with 3:20 left.

The game came down to a few key possessions late, like most of the Vassar-Bard games have been recently.

A layup from Brandon Cunningham made it 64-62 in favor of Vassar with 3:03 to go. After a Vassar turnover, Cunningham had his shot blocked by Steve Palecki (Southborough, MA), and Ryan Huegel (Briarcliff Manor, NY) made a driving layup to give Vassar a 66-62 lead with 1:56 left.

A pair of foul shots by Zach Goodman cut the lead to 66-64 with 1:04 left, and Vassar's next possession was the killer. Browne found Huegel on a back door cut, and his layup made it 68-64 with 43 ticks left. Bard turned it over again on its next possession.

The Raptors started fouling and ended up with a good look at a three-pointer to tie at the buzzer, but it didn't go.

Mickey Adams (Boston, MA) led Vassar with 18 points. Browne and Erickson Wasyl (Durham, CT) added 13 apiece.

Bard got 21 points and seven assists from Mosley, 16 points from Cunningham, and 11 points from Johnson. Dunn finished with nine points and 11 rebounds.

The Raptors wrap up the 2015-16 season on Friday night at home against RPI. It'll be Senior Night for Cunningham and Goodman. Follow it live right here.