Saratoga Springs, NY — Going into Saturday, Skidmore was looking to go for a weekend sweep, and they did it in dominating fashion.
The Skidmore Thoroughbreds defeated the Bard Raptors on Saturday afternoon at the Williamson Center in Saratoga Springs by a blowout final of 82-54.
Skidmore jumped out to a big advantage quickly, mostly thanks to the strong three-point shooting of Jack Byrne, who had given Skidmore a 10-point lead in the first 10 minutes of the contest from back-to-back three-pointers. Threes were the name of the game for Skidmore in the first half, as they nailed seven in the first 20 minutes, shooting nearly 40 percent from behind the arc.
“With the lineups we’re playing right now, that’s our strength. We can spread teams out. We have a couple guys that can really stick it out there and a couple guys that can really drive the ball. I think it’s part of our identity,” Skidmore head coach Joe Burke said.
The strong shooting and solid defensive play would give Skidmore a 19-point advantage at the break, 44-25. Things would calm down for the Thoroughbreds in the second half, as they would hit just three from behind the arc.
After scoring just eight points in the first half, Aldin Medunjanin had a very strong second half, being an integral part of an 11-0 Skidmore run towards the beginning of the second frame that put Skidmore up for good. He had 19 points on an incredible 8/9 shooting effort Saturday, leading the Thoroughbreds to the win.
“We’ve been in a good groove as of late, just sharing the ball and taking what the defense has been giving us. It’s fun. We’re having a really good time playing basketball right now,” Medunjanin said.
Additionally for Skidmore, Edvinas Rupkus had 17 points, and Jack Byrne finished with 14 points, all of them coming in the first half. Marcus Jackson finished with 11, giving Skidmore four players in double figures.
“I think it speaks to how unselfish they are,” Burke said. “I think that when you have that many weapons, it just makes you that much harder to guard.”
Bard was led by Jelani Bell-Isaac, who had 14 points, and Armando Dunn, who had 10. Harry Johnson cipped in with nine points.
This victory makes the winning streak for Skidmore move up to five, and they are now 8-1 in conference play behind only St. Lawrence. They are 13-5 overall.
“We’re kind of recreating ourselves a little bit. We’re finding a little bit of a new identity with a new lineup, but we can still do everything we set out to do. We have some really good teams in this conference, so it’s going to be a grind,” Burke added.
Skidmore will play again on Tuesday, at home against St. Lawrence. That game will begin at 7 PM.
With the loss, Bard falls to 0-7 in Liberty League play and 2-14 overall, having lost 11 straight. They will play again on Friday against RIT in Rochester, starting at 8 PM.
