SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Sophomore
Mike Concannon led four Dutchmen in double figures with 21 points as the Union College men's basketball team knocked off reigning Liberty League champions Skidmore College by an 86-77 score on Saturday afternoon at the Williamson Center.
Concannon hit 7-of-15 shots from the field and sunk all six free throws on the way to 21 points to go with six rebounds and three assists. Junior
Jackson Mannix scored 14 points in just 18 minutes, while sophomore
Mike Manley added 13 points and junior
Andrew Laub chipped in 10 points and a game-high seven caroms.
The two teams traded runs to start the contest, as Union (10-5, 7-3 Liberty League) began with a 10-3 run before Skidmore (6-11, 5-5 Liberty League) responded with a 13-2 stretch to take a 16-12 lead 6:13 into the game. Then it was Union's turn for another run, scoring 11 of the next 13 points to grab a 23-18 advantage with 9:14 remaining. Skidmore got back within two points on a pair of occasions, but both times Laub scored a bucket on the next possession to increase the lead. His last basket started an 8-2 run that gave Union a 45-37 lead at the half.
Both teams shot the ball very well in the opening stanza, with Union shooting 17-of-33 (51.5 percent) and Skidmore hitting 15-of-30 (50.0 percent) attempts. The Dutchmen did an excellent job of taking care of the ball, turning the ball over just two times and posting a 9-2 edge in points off turnovers.
Union led by seven points early in the second half before Mannix took over the game briefly, scoring eight straight points to put Union up 57-42 with 14:51 left. The Dutchmen held a comfortable lead for much of the next 10 minutes before the home team made one final challenge, a 15-4 run that made the score 78-74 with 2:01 remaining. However, a huge offensive rebound by Laub on the next possession led to a big bucket from sophomore
Brian Noone, and Union sunk all six free throws the rest of the way to seal the win.
Despite cooling off in the second half, Union still shot 43.3 percent (29 of 67) from the field and connected on 10-of-30 attempts from long range. The visitors also went 18-for-23 (78.3 percent) from the charity stripe and only turned the ball over four times all game, the fewest turnovers in a game since February 22, 2017.
Union will return home to Viniar Athletic Center next weekend for two more conference games, beginning on Friday at 7:30 p.m. against Rochester Institute of Technology.
