• Dutchmen at the Liberty League Tournament 

• Liberty League Tournament Central

GENEVA, NY – The Union College men's basketball team won their semifinal game against RIT, 84-64, on Friday afternoon at Bristol Gym.
 
The Dutchmen built on an early lead and refused to let up throughout the game, building their lead to the 20 points in which they won by. Union will face Skidmore in the Liberty League championship tomorrow afternoon, with an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament on the line.

Strong rebounding and hustle plays gave Union an early first-quarter lead. Senior big men Matt Liquori and Greg King snagged two boards each after five minutes of play. On Liquori's second rebound he fought off RIT defenders and dished a pass to junior guard Kevin McNoble, resulting in Union free throws which set the score at 10-2 in favor of the Dutchmen. Liquori led Union in first-half rebounds with five.
 
Liquori later helped Union break the 20-point mark midway through the first half. He drove towards the lane, but then quickly backed out of the paint and hooked a one-handed pass over RIT defenders to an open Brendan Laing who made the subsequent layup. The basket gave Union a 20-4 lead after nine minutes of first-half play.
 
Union continued to build on the early lead as the first half wore on. Laing hit another contested layup at with 3:13 left in the first half, bringing Union's lead to 35-23 and giving the Dutchmen two free throws in the process.
 
Shortly before the end of the half, King nailed a three from the corner which gave Union a 42-28 lead going into the second half. King ended the first half second to only Kevin Weckworth and Laing in points with nine. Weckworth and Laing finished the first half with 10 points each.
 
Weckworth led Union in the second half by hitting a step-back three as the shot clock expired after less than a minute into the half. He nailed another step-back three a few minutes later, giving Union a comfortable 58-33 lead seven minutes into the final half.
 
With nine minutes left in the game, Weckworth scored his 20th point of the game and pushed Union over the 70-point barrier by hitting a layup in the paint despite contact.
 
Union held onto its lead via defense and rebounding late in the second half, and would go on to win the game 84-64.
 
Tomorrow's final against the Thoroughbreds is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. (ET) back at Bristol Gym.