SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – The Union College men's basketball team made a valiant late-game comeback to get within one possession in the final minute, but the Dutchmen came up one shot short in a tough 90-83 defeat to Liberty League frontrunner Skidmore College on Saturday afternoon at Viniar Athletic Center.
 
A season-high four players reached double figures in scoring for Union (4-5, 1-3 Liberty League), led by senior Brendan Laing with 22 points. Senior Kevin McNoble had a solid outing with 16 points in his second game back from injury, while sophomore Jackson Mannix scored 15 points and junior Kevin Jefferson added 14.
 
After sophomore Temi George opened the scoring on the game's first possession, Skidmore came right back with a three to grab the lead and the visitors never relinquished it from there. Skidmore (7-3, 5-0 Liberty League) used an early 14-4 run to take a 20-9 lead with 5:28 gone by, with three threes from Edvinas Rupkus providing most of the visitors' offense. The Thoroughbreds led by as many as 16 in the first half before two Laing free throws brought the Dutchmen within 14 at 50-36 at the half.
 
The home team fought back in the second stanza, slowly chipping away at the deficit. A pair of Jefferson threes helped to get the deficit back into single digits with 16:40 remaining, but had trouble getting it back to a one-possession contest until a Laing layup made the score 68-66 with 7:11 to go.
 
Down by eight with 1:28 on the clock, Union made one last push. Jefferson hit another three to make the score 86-81, followed by a Laing block and Mannix jumper that made it a three-point game with 34 seconds left. Union then forced a turnover on the subsequent inbounds play to get the ball back with a chance to tie, but two shots could not fall and four Skidmore free throws clinched the win.
 
Both teams shot the ball well on the afternoon, with Union hitting at 50.8 percent (32 of 63) from the field and 47.6 percent (10 of 21) from beyond the arc. The margin of victory came mostly from the free-throw line, as Skidmore went 17-of-22 from the charity stripe and Union hit only nine of its 12 attempts.
 
Union has one more non-conference game on the schedule, with the Dutchmen taking on St. John Fisher College on Tuesday beginning at 7 p.m. at Viniar Athletic Center.