SCHENECTADY, NY – The Dutchmen edged Ithaca to improve to 11-6 on the year and move into third place in the Liberty League with an 82-79 win over the Bombers on Saturday afternoon at the Viniar Athletic Center.
 
Exceptional rebounding by Matt Liquori early on resulted in a Union lead. The senior captain snagged five boards before four minutes had gone by in the game as Union led 8-2 at the 16-minute mark.
 
Senior guard and leading-scorer Kevin Weckworth had a nice play later in the first half when he made a cut that sent an Ithaca player sliding, which resulted in a wide-open three-point shot for Weckworth that built on the Union lead.
 
Weckworth later hit a mid-range jumper that grew the Union lead to 10 and forced Ithaca to call a timeout, putting Union up 23-13 with 11:28 to go in the first half. The bombers hit a three midway through the first half to cut the lead, but Weckworth quickly got Union's lead up to 12 by stealing an errant Ithaca pass and making an accurate pass to Matt Liquori that he banked in for a transition layup.
 
In the waning moments of the first half, Greg King was able to get some key rebounds and drive to the rim consistently, which gave Union a 38-26 lead going into break. King recorded his sixth double-double of the season by the end of the first half, going to the locker room at halftime with 10 points and 10 rebounds. King would end the contest with 24 points and 19 rebounds.
 
After three minutes in the second half, Ithaca trimmed the Union lead down to just five, but junior guard Kevin McNoble answered with a deep high-arching three that gave Union a 43-35 lead with 16 minutes to go. Liquori then gave Union a 54-46 lead with 11 minutes remaining by kissing a layup high off the glass and getting a block on the subsequent possession.
 
Perhaps the most highlight-worthy play though occurred when Weckworth dished a no-look bounce pass to an open Rhona Eseyade who slammed down a dunk that got the home crowd out of their seats.
 
Union was able to maintain a double-digit lead for a majority of the game; but with five minutes left to go, Ithaca had cut the lead to six. Fortunately for Union, Weckworth continued his dominance and hit a clutch three right as the shot clock expired to give Union a 70-61 lead.
 
Ithaca came back in the final two minutes cutting its deficit to four with 1:18 left in the game. With only 29 seconds left, a pair of free-throws brought the Bombers within one point of the Dutchmen. However, Ithaca would commit a crucial foul of their own that gave Kevin Weckworth two free throws which put the game at 79-76 with only 21 seconds to go.
 
Liquori later iced the game by taking a hard charge and sinking the subsequent foul shots to give Union an 81-76 lead.
 
Union travels to RPI next Friday, Feb. 2, for an 8 p.m. (ET) tip off against the Engineers.