ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON,N.Y.- The Bard College men's basketball team fell late Friday night, dropping the Liberty League opener, 78-64, to Hobart College. 

The Raptors (2-8, 0-1 Liberty League) stayed within single digits most of the second half, cutting Hobart's lead to just four on more than one occasion. However, Bard couldn't get over the hump.

The ending of the first and second halves were nearly identical, with Bard keeping the game close the first 15 minutes of each half, only to allow Hobart (6-4, 1-0 Liberty League) to build the lead back up again. Following an Armando Dunn layup with 07:54 remaining in the first half, the Raptors trailed by just a point, 21-20. However, over the final seven plus minutes of the half, Hobart outscored Bard, 22-7, to take a 43-27 halftime lead.

In the second half, Bard began to rally back. On three separate occasions, the hosts got within four points of the visitors. The closest the game felt was with 10:27 remaining in the second half, when Emmanuel Oyakhilome nailed a three pointer to cut Hobart's lead to 52-48. The crowd erupted into a frenzy and momentum felt liked it shifted to the Raptors.

On the following Hobart possession, Bard forced the visitors into a tough three pointer that missed. As the hosts went back on offense, looking to make it a one score game, Oyakhilome once again launched up a three from the same spot as before, but this time the ball didn't find the bottom of the net. 

From that point, Hobart settled down and nailed a couple of dagger three pointers to put the Raptors away for good.

For the game, the Statesmen dominated the Raptors from long distance. They outshoot Bard, 46 percent to 15 percent, making 8 more three pointers than the hosts. Both teams shot the rock well overall for the game, but the three point edge gave Hobart the victory.

Newcomer Joel Wincowski tied for the team-lead in points in his debut for Bard with 13 points. Oyakhilome also finished with 13 points. Dunn nearly collected a double-double on the night, finishing with 11 points and nine rebounds. 

Hobart was led by Jamal Lucas (New York, NY) and Tucker Lescoe ( Denver, PA), as both players scored 15 points. 

The Raptors will return to action, January 7th, as the team hosts RIT at 4 p.m. at the Stevenson Athletic Center. You can follow that game right here via Live Stats and Live Video.