ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. – The Union College men's basketball team came up short to Bard College in a Liberty League matchup on Wednesday night, falling by a 65-61 score at the Stevenson Athletic Center.
 
First-years Tanner Tedesco and Matthew Garside scored 14 points apiece and classmate Jack Plesser chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds to lead Union (5-3, 0-3 Liberty League), which has dropped three straight after a 5-0 start. Rowan Heinze scored a game-high 19 points and also grabbed a game-best 10 boards to pace Bard (5-1, 3-0 Liberty League).
 
The first half was a low-scoring 20 minutes of action, with Bard holding a slight 29-28 lead at the half. Tedesco provided almost half of Union's offensive output with 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting in the frame, while sophomore Aren Cummings scored four points and hauled in seven rebounds.
 
The teams combined for eight lead changes in the first 8:10 of action as part of a back-and-forth start that saw neither team lead by more than two points. The Raptors created the first separation of the night with a 10-0 run that put the home team up 22-14 with 9:41 on the clock, but Union came back with a 10-4 run – led by five points from Garside – to quickly get back within a possession. The teams then alternated baskets the rest of the frame, with a Cummings layup in the final seconds making it a one-point game at the half.
 
Bard hit five of its first seven shots to begin the second half, but Union limited the Raptors' chances by forcing five turnovers and back-to-back threes from Garside helped to stay close in the early minutes. After a Garside triple with 11:10 left got the visitors within two at 44-42, Bard went on an 11-4 run over the next three minutes to build up its largest lead of the night at 55-46 with 8:11 to go.
 
Plesser attempted to keep Union in the game down the stretch with six straight points, the last basket getting Union to within two at 62-60 with 50 seconds remaining. Cummings then met Azriel Almodovar at the rim to block a layup attempt and give Union a chance to tie, but a turnover and subsequent free throw made it a three-point game with 14 ticks left on the clock. The visitors had one last chance to even the score, but Union could not get a clean look at a three and was subsequently fouled, not allowing the team a chance to even the score.
 
The Garnet Chargers finished the game shooting 42.1 percent (24 of 57) from the field and only made 11 trips to the free-throw line, while the Raptors shot an even 50.0 percent (23 of 46) and also got to the line 25 times, making 17 to help provide the winning margin.
 
Union will close out 2023 next Thursday with a non-conference matchup against Farmingdale State College at 5 p.m. at Viniar Athletic Center.