SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – The Union College men's basketball team outscored Bard College by 13 points after halftime to come back from an early deficit and pull away for a 78-69 victory in a key Liberty League contest on Tuesday night at Viniar Athletic Center.
 
First-year Tanner Tedesco matched his season high with a game-best 20 points, leading four Garnet Chargers in double figures. Classmate Matthew Garside scored seven of his 14 points from the charity stripe and senior Edward Baptiste scored all 13 of his points after halftime to help fuel the second-half surge. Sophomore Aren Cummings added 10 points as well for Union (7-5, 2-4 Liberty League), which picked up its second straight conference victory.
 
Sean Wilcox led for players in double figures for Bard (8-5, 3-3 Liberty League) with 19 points, followed by Rowan Heinze with 18.
 
The teams traded the lead six times during a close opening 20 minutes, with neither side leading by more than two possessions. Union's largest lead of the frame came at 24-20 after a Tedesco three with 5:01 on the clock, but Bard closed the period on a 10-3 run to take a 33-29 edge into the break.
 
Baptiste almost singlehandedly kept Union in the game to begin the second half, scoring 11 of the team's first 13 points. After tying the score three times in the opening minutes, Union finally broke through with 15:30 on the clock when Baptiste finished a personal 6-0 run with two free throws to put Union up 42-40. A pair of three-pointers by senior Connor Cepiel helped to cement the advantage.
 
Bard got back within a point with 8:57 remaining after a Willcox three made the score 53-52, but out of a timeout first-year Jack Plesser hit a jumper and then recorded a steal that resulted in a transition three from Tedesco to quickly make it a 58-52 game. Another Tedesco triple with 5:05 on the clock gave the home team its first double-digit lead of the night at 66-56. The Garnet Chargers attempted only one field goal after senior Luke McGarrity drained a trifecta with 4:38 left, but managed to clinch the win with a 9-of-10 effort at the line.
 
The Garnet Chargers forced 10 turnovers in the second half and 19 for the evening, helping limit the Raptors to only 42 field goal attempts. Despite shooting 41.4 percent (23 of 56) from the field, Union was able to earn extra possessions and make its time count at the line, hitting 23-of-27 shots (85.2 percent) from the charity stripe.
 
Union will continue its busy week with a trip to the North Country this weekend, beginning with a Friday matchup at St. Lawrence University beginning at 7:30 p.m.