SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Junior Edward Baptiste and first-year Aren Cummings tied for the game-high with 16 points to lead the Union College men's basketball team to its first Liberty League win of the season, a 74-61 victory over Skidmore College on Friday night at the Williamson Sports Center.
 
Baptiste hit 8-of-12 shots from the field and added six rebounds, and Cummings chipped in five boards and two steals to go with his season-best scoring output for Union (2-9, 1-3 Liberty League). Seniors Mike Manley and Brian Noone both reached double figures as well with 14 and 11 points, respectively, while classmate Justin Regis had a big outing with eight points, a game-high 13 rebounds and six assists.
 
Tautvydas Kupstas, Harrison Eichelberger and Greg Skoric all netted 14 points for Skidmore (4-7, 2-2 Liberty League), with Skoric adding 10 rebounds and four blocks for the game's only double-double.
 
Union had one of its best shooting halves of the season to start the night, connecting on 20 of 36 attempts (55.6 percent) to jump out to a 43-28 halftime advantage. The visitors scored on their first three possessions to take an early 7-0 lead and quickly extended the lead to double figures after a Cummings layup made the score 12-2 less than 4:30 into the game. After the Thoroughbreds whittled the lead down to four with 5:25 left, Union closed on a 14-3 run to take a 15-point lead into the locker room.
 
Cummings had 14 points in the opening 20 minutes and Manley hit 4-of-5 shots for 10 points before halftime to help Union to the early lead.
 
The Union margin never fell into single digits in the second half as the Dutchmen were able to limit Skidmore's momentum throughout. After the home team lowered the deficit to 11 at 55-44 with 9:11 remaining, Union responded with an 11-2 run, punctuated by a Baptiste slam, to put the game away. Baptiste led Union with eight points over the final 20 minutes of play to help secure the victory.
 
In addition to shooting 47.8 percent (33 of 69) from the field, Union did a fantastic job of securing the basketball. The team recorded only four turnovers on the night, the fewest in a game for Union since turning the ball over only three times against St. Lawrence University on February 22, 2017.
 
Union will look to keep the momentum going tomorrow, when the team heads to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for a 4 p.m. tipoff with their Capital Region rivals.