ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. - The Bard College men's basketball team battled tough, but couldn't overcome RIT as the Raptors fell 79-66 to the Tigers Friday evening.

The Raptors (0-21, 0-15 LL) started off strong from the field, as sophomore forward Stamatis Koulouris hit a pair of early three pointers to help the Raptors to an 11-9 lead. The Tigers (8-14, 5-10 LL) then took control, going on an 8-0 run to build a six point lead, including five from Keegan Ocorr (Fairport, N.Y.), who led all scorers with 20 points on the night. Bard then turned back to the three ball to close the gap, as Koulouris, freshman guard Andres Pacheco and freshman forward Tyler Bruns all connected from deep to close the gap to two points. Pacheco and Bruns hit another pair of late threes, but RIT took a 41-37 lead into the half thanks to five straight points from Kevin Ryan (Rochester, N.Y.).

Bard took control early in the second half, as freshman guard Stefanos Psarras got the Raptors started with a three pointer. Koulouris and Kevin Le then hit a pair of baskets to give Bard a 51-48 lead with 13 minutes remaining. However, the Tigers answered back with 10 consecutive points to regain the lead midway through the half. Psarras helped keep the Raptors in the game with a pair of jumpers, but RIT proved to be too much. The Tigers kept their lead and finished the game off with an 8-2 run to pick up the victory in a highly competitive contest.

Koulouris led the Raptors on the night with 18 points, six rebounds and three steals. Psarras added 15 points and four rebounds, while Le provided 12 points and five boards. Bruns chipped in with a pair of three pointers, finishing with six points and six rebounds.

The Raptors will play their final home game of the 2019-20 season Saturday, Feb. 15, when they host Union College (N.Y.) in a 4:00 p.m. contest.