SCHENECTADY, NY – The Union's men's basketball team bested St. Lawrence by a score of 77-65 Friday night at the Viniar Athletic Center. Union remains in second place in the Liberty League standings with a 10-5 league record and a 14-7 overall record.
 
The Dutchmen dominated in the first quarter. Union led 6-2 after three minutes of play, and Greg King extended the lead to 8-2 following a pair of free throws. Kevin Weckworth later dished a nice bounce pass that resulted in a Garrett Johnson hook shot to push the lead to 13-5 at the 5:25 mark in the first half.
 
Junior center Brendan Laing made an impressive spin move around a St. Lawrence defender to bank in a layup high off the backboard, growing Union's lead to 10, midway through the first half.
 
With seven minutes left to play in the first half, Jackson Mannix swished a three to give Union a 14-point lead. Mannix ended up leading Union in first half points with eight.
 
King continued his rebounding dominance —as he as all season—snagging a board with three minutes remaining in the first half, before following up with a layup to bring the score to 37-24 in favor of Union. King led Union in first half rebounds with seven, and was second to only Mannix in first half points with six.
 
St. Lawrence cut into Union's lead toward the end of the first half, but Union carried a 37-32 lead into halftime.
 
The Saints tied the game at 37-37 within the first two minutes of the second half, but King again drove to the rim and banked in a layup to give Union back the lead.
 
At the 5-minute mark, it was Kevin McNoble's turn as he fought through traffic to hook in an artful layup of his own that upped the score to 43-39. Weckworth followed up with a deep three shortly afterward to extend Union's lead to seven.
 
Midway through the second half, Johnson continued his impressive game, hitting a three-pointer that gave Union a 56-48 lead. Johnson finished the contest with four rebounds, seven points, and one steal.
 
Later in the second half, senior captain Matt Liquori drove to the rim and lofted a pass over the outstretched arms of St. Lawrence defenders to an open Brendan Laing who drained a layup. Following a rebound, Liquori later launched a pass to the opposite end of the court to a sprinting Weckworth who quickly made the fast-break layup.
 
In the final two minutes, Johnson hit two free throws following a strong rebound to bring Union's lead to 72-61. As the second half wore on, Union used superior rebounding and speed to grow its lead.
Weckworth repeatedly sprinted down the floor, making layup after layup, to build the Dutchmen lead.
 
With 56 seconds remaining, freshman forward Temidire George had the play of the night when he threw down a hard dunk that put the exclamation point on the night and erupted the home crowd.
 
Union returns to the Viniar Athletic Center tomorrow for a 4 p.m. (ET) tip off against Clarkson.