SCHENECTADY, N.Y. - The Union College men's basketball team took St. Lawrence University down to the final minutes on Saturday afternoon, but the home team came up a few possessions short in a 71-63 loss to the Saints on Senior Day at Viniar Athletic Center.
 
Before the game, Union recognized the four fifth-year seniors as well as the four four-year seniors on this year's squad. Senior Brian Noone netted a game- and season-high 22 points in his final collegiate outing, hitting 11-of-17 shots from the field, while classmate Chris Lovisolo finished his career with a double-double of 15 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Fellow senior Mike Manley and junior Edward Baptiste both added 10 points as well for Union (6-19, 5-13 Liberty League).
 
St. Lawrence (17-7, 13-5 Liberty League) was paced by Troy Syroka and Trent Adamson with 16 points apiece.
 
Union finished the game shooting 47.5 percent (29 of 61) from the field and made five more field goals than the opposition. However, the difference came from the charity stripe: SLU made 25 trips to the line and made 18 (72.0 percent), while Union did not attempt a single free throw in 40 minutes, as the Saints were whistled for just five fouls on the defensive end of the floor.
 
The Saints jumped out to a 12-4 lead 3:34 into the contest, but Noone single-handedly brought Union back to even with four straight baskets, the last of which tied the game at 12 with 13:00 on the clock. The teams traded the lead back-and-forth seven times over the remainder of the half, with neither side able to break away. A pair of Syroka free throws in the final minute tied the score at 33 headed into halftime.
 
The home team shot 51.7 percent (15 of 29) in the opening frame, with Noone leading all scorers with 12 points and Lovisolo adding 10 for Union over the opening 20 minutes.
 
The teams remained within a possession of each other in the opening minutes of the second half, until back-to-back buckets from Noone and Manley gave Union a 51-47 lead with 12:28 left. The Saints quickly came back with nine straight points to take a 56-51 lead with nine minutes remaining, but Union battled back to take the lead on a Noone layup and again on a Manley jumper with 3:54 remaining.
 
Manley's bucket put Union up 63-62, but was the last Union would score on the day, however, as St. Lawrence closed the game on a 9-0 run. The home team missed all five shots from long range in the waning minutes to allow the Saints to escape with the win.
 
Union's shooting percentage dropped in the second half, especially the team's 2-of-13 effort from beyond the arc. SLU, meanwhile, shot 54.2 percent (13 of 24) from the field in the second stanza.
 
Today's game marked the final collegiate contest for many of Union's seniors: Manley, Noone, Lovisolo, Mike Concannon, Connor Cepiel, Eamon Fitzpatrick, Justin Regis and Sean Regis.