SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Union College men's basketball team started strong and never trailed in picking up its first Liberty League victory of the season, holding off a late Skidmore College rally to post a 63-58 win on Saturday afternoon at Williamson Sports Center.
 
Senior Edward Baptiste hit 6-of-9 shots from the field on the way to a team-leading 13 points for Union (6-5, 1-4 Liberty League), which saw nine players make at least one basket. Sophomore Christian Dufort led a Union bench unit that outscored its counterparts 28-8 by scoring 10 points and grabbing 10 rebounds for his first collegiate double-double, while senior Connor Cepiel led all players with a career-best 11 caroms to go with six points.
 
Aidan Roy netted a game-high 17 points with seven rebounds for Skidmore (2-9, 0-5 Liberty League), followed by Jake Walsh with 14 points and Joey Skoric with a double-double of 13 points and 10 boards.
 
After the teams combined to score on four of the game's first six possessions, Union held Skidmore without a field goal for nearly nine minutes and went on a 11-1 run to take a 19-5 lead with 9:42 remaining in the half. The visitors had six different players combine to hit 7-of-14 shots from the field during the run, while forcing the Thoroughbreds to miss 13 straight field-goal attempts.
 
Union built up its advantage to as many as 18 later in the frame after a Baptiste jumper with 2:59 on the clock made the score 32-14 in favor of the visitors. However, Skidmore hit its final five shots from the field to close on an 11-0 run that decreased the Union lead to seven (32-25) at the half.
 
Union shot over 50.0 percent for much of the opening half before missing its final five shots, but still finished the stanza at 42.4 percent (14 of 33) from the field compared to Skidmore's 33.3 percent (10 of 30) shooting. Dufort led the visitors with seven points as part of a balanced attack that saw nine different players record a bucket in the half.
 
A three-point play by Baptiste early in the second stanza bumped the Union lead back up into double figures at 37-27, and the deficit never fell below seven points over the next nine minutes of play until a pair of Walsh freebies brought the Thoroughbreds within five at 48-43 with 8:08 on the clock. Union was content to trade baskets for the next five minutes and still led by three at 59-56 entering the 100 seconds.
 
Tedesco drew an offensive foul with 1:03 left to retain the three-point edge, but a missed shot and a Skidmore transition layup made it a 59-58 score with 21.6 seconds left. Tedesco was fouled and went to the line, calmly sinking both shots to regain the three-point edge and setting the stage for one final defensive stand. After a timeout, Skidmore went for a quick two and missed, with first-year Brendan Reid grabbing the rebound and sinking two free throws to seal the victory.
 
The Garnet Chargers cooled off somewhat from the field in the second half, finishing the game at 39.7 percent (23 of 58) from the field, but went 11-for-13 from the line in the second half to finish the day at 81.3 percent (13 of 16). Skidmore shot 20-of-62 (32.3 percent) from the field, including a 4-of-25 mark (16.0 percent) from long range.
 
Union will return to Viniar Athletic Center for the first time in 2024 on Tuesday with a 7:30 p.m. matchup against Bard College.