ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Union College men's basketball team dropped a second straight Liberty League matchup by falling to Rochester Institute of Technology by a 88-78 score on Saturday afternoon at Clark Memorial Gymnasium.
 
Sophomore Jack Plesser hit 8-of-10 shots from the field and 6-of-8 from the line to finish with a team-leading 22 points. All five Union starters finished in double figures, including sophomore Tanner Tedesco with 15 points and junior Christian Dufort with a double-double of 12 points and a game-high 10 boards, but the bench contributed only six points for Union (3-4, 0-2 Liberty League).
 
Brock Bowens scored a game-high 27 points and Chase Dickens added 22 points for RIT (4-4, 1-1 Liberty League), which saw four players score in double figures.
 
After Union scored six of the game's first nine points, RIT responded with a 13-2 run to take a 16-8 lead with 12:52 left in the opening half and led for the remainder of the half. However, the Garnet Chargers got back within a basket to trail only by a 36-34 score at the end of the first half and then scored the first five points in the opening minute of the second stanza on a Plesser bucket and a Tedesco three-point play to take back the lead at 39-36.
 
The visitors led again by three after a Dufort triple made the score 45-42 with 17:08 left, but RIT scored the next seven straight points and Union never regained the lead again. The Garnet Chargers got back within one soon after thanks to threes by Dufort and sophomore Matthew Garside; however, another 7-0 run bumped the RIT back to eight. The Tigers led by as many as 15 after a Dickens three with 1:43 remaining and went 6-of-8 from the line to clinch the win.
 
Union finished the afternoon shooting 44.6 percent (29 of 65) from the field, while RIT was slightly more efficient at 49.2 percent (29 of 59) and also hit 13 three-pointers to Union's eight. The Tigers also held a 17-12 edge at the charity stripe to account for the final margin.
 
The Garnet Chargers will return to action on Thursday with a Liberty League matchup at Bard College beginning at 7:30 p.m.