ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. – Senior
Kevin Jefferson led 14 Dutchmen on the scoresheet with 16 points as the Union College men's basketball team clinched a home postseason game with a 90-65 victory over Bard College in Liberty League action on Saturday afternoon at the Stevenson Athletic Center.
With the win, Union (13-9, 10-6 Liberty League) assured itself of a fourth-place finish in the Liberty League standings and will host a first round game in the Liberty League Tournament on Tuesday, February 25. There are five teams still vying for the fifth and sixth spots in the tournament; the Dutchmen will play the highest finisher of those squads.
Jefferson had a solid outing to lead Union to the win, netting 16 points to go with five assists and three steals. Junior
Andrew Laub recorded his second double-double of the year with 15 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, while sophomore
Brian Noone reached double figures as well with 13 points and eight rebounds.
The Dutchmen put this game away early, shooting 58.1 percent (18 of 31) from the field and a sizzling 63.6 percent (7 of 11) from downtown over the first 20 minutes to take a 52-31 lead into intermission. Leading 17-11 with 11:42 to go in the half, Union scored 10 straight points to build up a 27-11 advantage on a Laub jumper with 9:14 on the clock. The lead grew to 21 later in the half on a dunk by junior
Temi George and a three from sophomore
Mike Manley, and again later on a pair of Laub freebies just before the break.
Bard showed a little life to start the second half with an 11-3 run to get back within 13, but sophomore
Mike Concannon and Noone hit jumpers on the next two Union possessions to stem the tide. A 12-0 run later in the stanza gave Union its largest lead of the game at 80-51 with 4:15 to go, and the visitors coasted their way from there.
Union finished the afternoon shooting 48.5 percent (33 of 68) from the field and also cleaned up on the glass, boasting a 46-28 edge in rebounding and a 38-20 edge scoring in the paint.
Union will close out the regular season with two road games in the North Country, beginning on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. against St. Lawrence University.
