SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – A late-game rally came up just short for the Union College men's basketball team on Friday night, as the Dutchmen dropped a 69-66 game to rival Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at the Viniar Athletic Center.
 
Union (8-11, 4-9 Liberty League) remains in a tie for seventh place in the conference standings with five games left in the regular season, while RPI (11-9, 6-7 Liberty League) remains in sixth place but now has a two-game lead over the Dutchmen for the last playoff spot.
 
The leading scorer on the night was freshman Mike Concannon, who paced all scorers with 18 points. In addition, the Dutchmen featured two more double digit scorers as classmate Mike Manley added 13 points and senior Kevin McNoble chipped in 11.
 
After a three-pointer to start the game, the Union defense locked down the Engineers in the early going, using a 16-3 run to take a 16-6 lead with 8:32 left in the first half. Six different players scored buckets for the Dutchmen during the run, during which the home team held RPI to 1-of-12 shooting with six turnovers.
 
However, the tables were turned for the remainder of the half, as the Engineers went on a 12-1 run to take a one-point lead with 5:17 left. In total, the visitors outscored Union 23-7 the rest of the way to take a 29-23 lead into the half.
 
RPI built up its lead to as many as 11 points early in the second half, holding a 43-32 edge with 13:24 remaining. But Union responded with a 14-3 run to knot the score at 46, highlighted by a dunk from sophomore Rhona Eseyade that capped the run. The Dutchmen remained within a possession for the next three minutes, but could not get the combination of a stop and a score to regain the lead.
 
Union trailed by four with under a minute remaining, when Manley made a key steal that led to a quick layup for Concannon and a 65-63 score with 46 seconds left. But needing one more defensive stop to get the ball back with a chance to win or tie, a three from Tom Horvat as the shot clock winded down provided the big blow that allowed the Engineers to escape with a win.
 
Union was done in largely by turnovers, as 17 miscues turned into 17 points at the other end. For the game, Union shot 47.2 percent (25 of 53) from the field, but RPI sank 13 three-pointers to Union's five to make up the difference.
 
Union will look to bounce back tomorrow against Vassar College at 4 p.m. at the Viniar Athletic Center.