ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. — With less than two seconds left in overtime, sophomore Connor Melis drove to the basket for the game-winning layup as the Bard men's basketball team defeated Ithaca, 78-76, on Saturday afternoon at the Stevenson Athletic Center. 

Bard (4-1, 2-0 Liberty League) came out on top in a thrilling overtime game that had nine lead changes. Senior Lazaros Panagioutounis tied his career-high 20 points while committing no turnovers. Panagioutounis shot 6-of-8 from the field and 5-of-6 from the line. He added five rebounds and a team-high five assists. 

Senior Elliot Harris scored a season-high 18 points, shooting 4-of-7 from behind the arc. Harris added a rebound and an assist. Fellow senior Rowan Heinze racked up 11 points and grabbed five boards with his assist. 

Senior Azriel Almodovar had a team-high four steals and added three assists, eight points, and a block. Junior Sean Wilcox was a force in the paint with a career-high four blocks and added seven rebounds and six points. Melis, whose only field goal was the game-winning layup, went 4-of-6 from the line and added four rebounds, three assists, and a steal. 

It was a high-energy start as both teams exchanged scores throughout the first half. Ithaca (4-3, 1-1) took an early 11-5 lead after seven minutes of play. The Raptors took the lead at 7:15 with a mid-range jumper from Heinze to make it 18-17. Bard went on an 11-6 run to take a 10-point lead entering halftime. 

In the second half, Bard took an early 6-0 run to increase their lead 41-29. A layup by the Bombers ended the scoring drought. But Ithaca stormed back and with 1:28 left in regulation, Evan Cabral hit a deep three to give the Bombers a one-point lead. With under a minute left, Bard's Cory Dennis hit a free throw to tie the game at 62 and after a miss three-pointer from Ithaca, the game went to overtime.

Bard went 11-of-12 from the free-throw line in overtime, including eight consecutive made free throws. With 3:12 left in the clock, Harris drained a three-pointer to give Bard a 71-64 lead. Ithaca answered back with a 7-3 run and a three-point deficit at the 1:21 mark. 

Melis was sent to the line and made both free throws with less than a minute left and gave Bard a 76-71 lead. But Ithaca again struck back, with a pair of free throws from Cabral and a Wendell and-one conversion, tying the game at 76. Bard Head Coach Dave Sloan called a timeout and drew up a game-winning play that did not include Melis scoring the basket. However, Melis saw the opportunity and free space down the lane and took it. 

It is the first time since the 2018-19 season that the men's basketball team started 2-0 in the league and the first time the Raptors defeated Ithaca since Dec. 1, 2018, when Bard captured the win on the road.

Bard's 9-of-19 (47.4) from the three-point range is its best scoring average from the three this season, while its 19-of-26 (73.1%) from the line and 25-of-46 (54.3%) from the field are its second-best scoring average this season. 

Bard will host Union on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. for its White Out theme game.