Dutchmen Rally Past Skidmore, 78-74, to Stay Alive For the UCAA Post-Season Tournament

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.John Cagianello's three-point field goal with 51 seconds left to play broke a 70-70 tie and the Dutchmen connected on nine of 10 free throw attempts down the stretch to rally past Skidmore, 78-74, in an Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association basketball contest.

The win kept the Dutchmen's UCAA post-season tournament hopes alive while the loss just about eliminated the Thoroughbreds from the four-team affair. Union, which swept the two-game series from its conference travel partner, is 5-3 in the UCAA and 15-5 overall. Skidmore, meanwhile, is 3-5 in the conference and 10-7 overall.

Union, which found itself on the short end of a 15-5 score early in the contest, trailed by six, 41-35, at halftime. Two Chris Murphy free throws with 1:52 left to play gave Union a 68-65 advantage before a three-point field goal by the hosts tied the game at 68 with 1:38 remaining. Ryan Freundlich knocked down a pair of free throws to give the Garnet a 70-68 advantage with 1:27 showing, but Skidmore came back with a pair of charity points of its own to knot the game, for what proved to be the last time, at 70 with 1:13 showing.

Cagianello, who led the Dutchmen with 20 points, connected on his fourth three-point basket of the game to give Union a lead it would not relinquish. Skidmore, which connected on 10 of its 19 three-point attempts, missed the tying tres with 38 seconds left then fouled Murphy, who came up with the rebound. Murphy and Cagianello each hit a pair of free throws in the final 29 seconds before Freundlich iced the win as he hit one of two from the charity stripe to give the Dutchmen a four-point lead with 3.8 seconds showing.

Sophomore forward Brian Scordato finished with 16 points and a team-high nine rebounds for the Dutchmen while Freundlich and Murphy each netted 11 points. Senior captain Imbrie Packard contributed 10 points.

The Dutchmen will honor their two seniors, Packard and Freundlich, before Friday night's 8 p.m. game with Hobart. On Saturday, Union will honor Hamilton head coach Tom Murphy, who is retiring after 33 seasons on the Continentals' bench. Game time is 4 p.m.