ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. - The Bard College men's basketball team outlasted Liberty League rival, Union College, 83-81 Tuesday night at the Stevenson Athletic Center.

While the game may have only featured three lead changes and two tie scores, anyone watching the heated contest would attest to just how much of a roller coaster ride it was.

The Dutchmen of Union struck first in the opening half, jumping out to a 33-20 lead just beyond ten minutes gone in the frame.

However, from that point until halftime, it was all Raptors. The hosts outscored Union, 21-5, over the last eight minutes of the first half and carried a 41-38 lead at the intermission.

Bard maintained its slight advantage early into the second half, until Union was able to grab it back at 52-51 with 12 minutes left.

The Dutchmen pushed their lead to as many as four points, but that was as much as they could muster before Bard retook control.

The Raptors nailed back-to-back three pointers to go up by the score of 61-59. After that point, Bard never trailed again in the game. The offense continued to pour in for the Raptors, as they built their biggest advantage of the night at 74-64 with just 5:32 remaining. 

However, this contest still had many more twists and turns left in it. Over the next four minutes, Union slowly but surely chipped into the lead before getting the score to 77-77 with just 1:30 left. 

Down the stretch, Emmanuel Oyakhilome nailed a pair of clutch free throws and Justyn Rogers had a perfectly timed tip-in with 30 seconds to go to put Bard up, 81-77.

After each side played the foul and pray card a few times, Union was left with just a couple of seconds, down three points.

The Raptors chose to foul to avoid a game-tying three pointer. Union made the first free throw before intentionally missing the second.

Kevin Weckworth (Randleman, NC) came up with the offensive rebound for the Dutchmen and launched a three in an attempt to win the game, but the shot was just a tad short, clanging off the front iron as the buzzer sounded. 

The Raptors finished the contest with a better shooting percentage and won the rebounding margin fairly easily, which made the difference in the end.

Bard also got balanced scoring on the evening, as six players finished with eight points or more. Rogers led the team with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Oyakhilome tallied 18 points and 11 rebounds. 

Alijah Rue and Jelani Bell-Isaac each finished with 12 points. David Runcie added eight points and Wynn Miller finished with nine points on 3-of-4 shooting from three point range.

Weckworth led the way for Union with his game-high 21 points, but only shot 9-of-27 from the field. Three other Dutchmen finished with double-digit point totals. 

Up next for the Raptors is the second home contest of the week, as Bard hosts Skidmore College on January 19th at 8 p.m. You can follow that game right here.