SCHENECTADY, NY – Sophomore forward Jon Douglas (Shutesbury, MA) scored a game high 22 points and freshman guard Jeff Altimar (Medfield, MA) scored 20 to lead Skidmore to a 69-64 men's basketball win at Union Tuesday night in the Liberty League opener for both teams. The Thoroughbreds improved to 6-6 overall and the Dutchmen fell to 4-7.

Douglas pulled down a game best nine rebounds and Jonah Haviland-Markowitz (Brooklyn, NY) scored nine points for Skidmore, which shot 42% for the night. The contest featured just 11 total turnovers, four by Union, and the Thoroughbreds had a big 35-24 rebounding advantage.

Junior forward Drew Desmarais (St. James, NY) had 17 points and Nick DiMaggio (Croton-on-Hudson, NY) dished out six assists with 13 points for the Dutchmen. Steve Madej (Burnt Hills, NY) had 14 points and four assists for Union. Nick Ciresi (Kings Park, NY) led Union with seven rebounds and Desmarais added six boards.

Skidmore had a six point lead at halftime, 31-25. After Douglas hit a jumper to tie the game at 40-40 with 11:33 left, the Dutchmen went on a 6-0 run for a 46-40 advantage with 9:35 left, and led 48-42 with 8:56 remaining. But Skidmore came to tie it at 53-53 on an 11-5 run in the next 6:02, featuring seven points from Altimar during that time. Madej gave Union the lead at 56-54 with 3:02 left on a three pointer, but consecutive three pointers by Jake Shechtman (Wynnewood, PA) and Haviland-Markowitz made it 60-56 Skidmore with 2:04 left. Union's Delon McAllister (Irvington, NJ) hit a jumper at 1:37 for a two point game at 60-58, but the hosts could draw no closer and Skidmore led by as many as six with 17 seconds to play.

Both teams head north this weekend, as Union plays at Clarkson Friday while Skidmore is at St. Lawrence Friday. The Dutchmen and Thoroughbreds then take on St. Lawrence and Clarkson, respectively, Saturday.

Box score