ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. - The Bard College men's basketball team was defeated by Rochester Institute of Technology, 74-63, in a close contest to open Liberty League play Friday night.

The first half was battle between the two rivals. The Raptors used an early 7-1 run to build a 23-16 advantage over the visitors early in the opening frame. 

RIT responded however, turning the seven point deficit into a seven point advantage later in the half, going up by the total of 34-27, following a 18-4 run. 

Bard answered by cutting the deficit to just three points at halftime, trailing 38-35. To open the second half, Bard's leading scorer on the night, Emmanuel Oyakhilome, nailed a three-pointer to tie the contest up.

The tie score was short lived though, as RIT came back on the very next possession with a layup to regain the lead.

From that point on, it was all RIT. The Tigers managed a second 18-4 scoring run, which put them up 56-42 with 11:29 remaining in the contest. 

Bard cut the lead to just seven points on three separate occasions during the final ten minutes, but couldn't get any closer the rest of the way. 

Oyakhilome finished with 19 points in the game, which set a new career-high for the sophomore. He also grabbed 12 rebounds in the effort for his second double-double of the season. 

Justyn Rogers also recorded a double-double for the Raptors. The freshman tallied 13 points and 12 rebounds. Jelani Bell-Isaac added nine points, while Alijah Rue chipped in eight points for Bard.

RIT had four players finish with double-digit point totals, including Robert Aguilera (Webster, NY), who scored 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. 

Up next for Bard is another Liberty League foe, as the Raptors host Ithaca College tomorrow (12/02) at 4 p.m. You can follow that contest right here.