SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - The Bard College men's basketball team lost to Skidmore College, 75-65, in a Liberty League game on Friday night.

The Raptors trailed 20-5 with just over eight minutes left in the first half, but Bard outscored Skidmore 18-11 down the stretch, and it was 31-23 at halftime. Both teams struggled from the field in the first 20 minutes, Bard shooting 31 percent, and Skidmore 36 percent.

Bard cut the deficit to five twice in the first couple of minutes of the second half, but Skidmore responded and pushed the lead back to 15, 54-39, with 7:17 left in the game. It looked like it was over.

But the Raptors kept making three-pointers - they made 10 in the second half - and they refused to go away. A 17-7 run trimmed the deficit to 61-56 with 5:34 to go, and even after Skidmore pushed the lead back to 10, Bard cut it to five, 70-65, in the final minute. The Thoroughbreds made their fouls shots down the stretch and won by 10.

The second half was Bard's best-shooting half in over a year, as they made 61 percent of their shots from the field, including 10-of-17 from beyond the arc. The only problem was that Skidmore also shot 61 percent in the second half.

The hosts got 22 points, eight rebounds and four assists from Ty Lamport (Hobart, NY). Tautvydas Kupstas (Kaunas, Lithunia) added 16 points, seven rebounds and four steals. Skidmore is 6-10 overall, 5-4 in conference play.

Bard freshman Elliot Harris matched his career high with 24 points, including 5-of-7 from distance, and he added three assists. Stefanos Psarras had 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists; Stamatis Koulouris finished with 14 points, five rebounds and three assists, and Tyler Bruns contributed 10 points and four rebounds.

Bard (0-15, 0-9) continues its road trip with a game at Vassar on Saturday. Follow it live right here at 4 p.m.