The Bard College men's basketball team fell to Sarah Lawrence in overtime on Friday night, 66-63 at Campbell Sports Center.
Bard took a 10-point lead halfway through the first half before Sarah Lawrence overcame its deficit and went on a 24-11 run to take a six-point lead heading into halftime. In the second half, Bard outscored Sarah Lawrence 25-19, shooting 7-of-21 (33 percent) from the field and shooting 75 percent from the free-throw line, in comparison to the Gryphons, who shot 23 percent from the field and 55.56 percent from the line. During overtime, Sarah Lawrence forced pressure as they shot perfectly from three-point range and 5-of-6 from the line, compared to Bard's 2-of-11 field goal shooting.
Graduate student
Lazaros Panagiotounis led the Raptors with 21 points on 6-of-19 shooting and a team-high four steals. Senior
Sean Wilcox had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds, while graduate student
Azriel Almodovar added 13 points, five rebounds and three steals. First-years
Joshua Bayne,
Jalen Umstead and
Lucas Tovar all had their first collegiate points, with Bayne scoring three points and a steal.
The Raptors trailed most of the second half and had to battle their way back, including trailing by at least 10 points with less than nine minutes left in the game. With 1:36 left, Pangiotounis scored a deep three-pointer to give the Raptors a two-point lead, 52-50. With less than 14 seconds left and the game at 52-51, Bard was in the bonus, and the Gryphons fouled Almodovar. The Raptors had a chance to make it a three-point lead, but Almodovar made one free throw and Eamon Kelly made a driving layup to tie the game at 53-53 and send it to overtime with four seconds left.
Sarah Lawrence controlled the overtime, holding the Raptors to just two baskets. The Gryphons got to the line, converting 5-of-6 free throws. With six seconds left, Almodovar reduced the deficit to five points. Panagiotounis stole the ball with three seconds left but sadly missed the three-point shot to reduce the deficit to two.
Bard will return to Sarah Lawrence to take on Washington College at noon.
