ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. — The Bard College men's basketball team defeated Skidmore 69-50 to win the team's first game of the new year on Friday night at Stevenson Athletic Center. 

Bard (9-7, 4-5 Liberty League) had four of its starting lineup finish with double-digit points. Junior Sean Wilcox led the team with his first double-double of the season, with 18 points and 10 rebounds. He also added an assist and a block. Senior Rowan Heinze was close to a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds. Heinze added a career-high five assists and added two blocks. 

Senior Azriel Almodovar stuffed the stat sheets with 12 points, five rebounds, five assists, a block and an assist. Fellow senior Lazaros Panagiotounis added 10 points and grabbed eight boards. Elliot Harris added six points and five rebounds on top of three assists. Junior Ahmad Rauf scored five points in just six minutes, shooting 2-of-4 from the floor. Senior Cory Dennis tied his career-high with five rebounds and added five points. 

The Raptors started off strong, jumping out to a 26-9 lead after 10 minutes of play, but Skidmore fought back and narrowed the deficit to ten points by halftime. The Thoroughbreds started hot in the second half and had back-to-back jumpers off fast breaks, but a Raptor timeout slowed Skidmore's momentum and was ultimately the key to Bard's success down the stretch. 

Bard will be back in action tomorrow, hosting Vassar at 4 p.m.