CLINTON, N.Y. - The Bard College men's basketball team lost a close contest Saturday afternoon, as the Continentals of Hamilton College outlasted the Raptors, 89-83, in a non-league matchup.

A pair of freshmen were the story of the day for Bard, as Alijah Rue and Justyn Rogers nearly powered the Raptors to victory. Rue finished with a career-high 35 points on 7-of-8 shooting from three-point range, while Rogers collected his third double-double of the season with 15 points and 14 rebounds. 

The duo opened the game by scoring Bard's first eight points on the afternoon, as the visitors jumped out to an early 10-2 lead.

Hamilton College, which improved to 8-0 with the win, wasn't fazed by the early deficit however. The hosts answered back with a 14-0 scoring run to secure the lead nearly seven minutes into the game.

From there, the Continentals would hold the lead the rest of the half, pushing their advantage to as many as 15 points with four minutes to go in the half.

The Raptors, led by Rue, kept battling over the final minutes though. Rue scored 11 points during that four-minute stretch, as Bard cut the lead to just five points entering halftime, 50-45.

In the first half alone, Rue tallied 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting, including a perfect 5-of-5 from three. 

Hamilton responded with a run to start the second half, as the hosts scored six straight points to push the lead back to double digits.

Over the next few minutes, both sides answered each other's baskets, as Hamilton's lead fluctuated from seven to 10 points.

Bard finally broke the back-and-forth pace with a 9-0 run, cutting the lead to just one point at 63-62 with 10:27 remaining in the game. A minute later, following a pair of Hamilton free throws, Rue nailed a three to tie the game at 65-all.

Hamilton however, came back and showed why the team remained undefeated, scoring 12 of the next 14 points to extend the lead to 79-67 with just four minutes to go.

Bard finished with a flurry, cutting the deficit to just three points late in the contest, but ultimately run out of time to complete the comeback. 

Junior David Runcie's breakout season continued Saturday, as the forward finished with 21 points for Bard.

Hamilton meanwhile, had five players finish in double-digits, as Kena Gilmour (New Paltz, NY) led the team with 23 points and nine rebounds.

The Raptors will now have the next few weeks off before returning to action on January 5th. Bard will host St. Lawrence at 8 p.m. that night and you can follow the contest right here.