ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. -  The Bard College men's basketball team was defeated by Ithaca College, 87-83, Friday night in the penultimate Liberty League game of the regular season. 

Entering the contest, both squads had already clinched playoff spots, but seeding was still to be determined. However, following the result, Bard officially became the No. 6 seed and will travel to No. 3 Hobart College on February 19th for the quarterfinals. 

The loss pushed the Raptors' record to 12-12 overall and 8-9 in Liberty League play, while the Bombers of Ithaca moved to 14-10 and 10-7.

Ithaca jumped in front early in the contest, taking a 12-4 lead within five minutes. That lead eventually extended to as many as 14 points (26-12) midway through the half, but the Raptors remained resilient. With five and half minutes to go in the opening frame, Bard was able to cut the deficit to just four points (32-28) on an Alijah Rue layup. 

Ithaca wasn't fazed though, as the guests responded over the next three minutes by extending their lead back to double digits. However, Bard held tough, and whittled the lead back down to single digits, trailing 45-39 at the halftime break. 

Despite the Bombers shooting 51 percent in the opening half, the Raptors had done enough in the frame to put themselves in a great position for the second half. Everything seemed like it was setup perfectly for Bard ... until Ithaca ruined it.

The guests connected on three of their first four shots to begin the second, pushing their lead to 52-39. Over the rest of the half, Ithaca held Bard at bay, as the Raptors never got closer than eight points until the final minute of the game.

On the night, the Bombers shot 49 percent, while Bard finished at 40 percent. The Raptors did win the rebounding battle, 52-38, but also finished with five more turnovers. 

Individually, four players finished in double figures for the Raptors, with Rue leading the charge. The sophomore guard finished with 31 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals. 

David Runcie added 16 points and nine rebounds, while Justyn Rogers collected 11 points and 13 rebounds in the effort. Zack Jacobs chipped in 10 points off the bench for the Raptors. 

For Ithaca, all five starters finished in double figures. Sebastian Alderete (Miami Springs, FL) led the way with 21 points and seven rebounds. Peter Ezema (New York, NY) added 14 points and 11 rebounds in the win. 

Up next for the Raptors is the final regular season game of the year, as they host RIT tomorrow (February 16th) at 4 p.m. Before the game begins, the team will celebrate Senior Night for Armando Dunn, Merritt Miller, Jelani Bell-Isaac and David Runcie. You can catch all the action right here.