SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Led by a game-high 27 points from junior Jack Plesser, the Union College men's basketball team shot a sizzling 60.8 percent from the field and even better than that from long range in an 88-66 win over Manhattanville University on day one of the 2025 Sig Makofski Invitational, held at Viniar Athletic Center on Saturday afternoon.
 
With the win, Union (4-1) advances to tomorrow's championship game against #1 Trinity (Conn.) College after the Bantams cruised past Russell Sage College by a 105-46 score in Saturday's first game.
 
Plesser continued his stellar start to the season by pouring in 11-of-14 field-goal attempts – including a pair of threes – to lead all scorers and also chipped in five rebounds, three blocks and two steals. Classmate Matthew Garside hit 5-of-6 shots from long range on the way to an 18-point effort, and fellow junior Tanner Tedesco went for 15 points and eight assists. Senior Christian Dufort added a game-high 10 rebounds in addition to seven points and three assists.
 
As a team, Union shot a red-hot 60.8 percent (31 of 51) from the field for the afternoon and were lethal from long range, connecting on 14-of-22 three-point attempts (63.6 percent). Manhattanville (2-4) shot 40.0 percent (26 of 65) from the field and just 3-of-21 (14.3 percent) from beyond the arc in a losing effort.
 
The Garnet Chargers actually started the game by missing four of their first five shots to fall behind by a 5-2 margin after the opening two minutes. However, the home team connected on its next seven shots to take back the lead at 19-13 with 13:35 left thanks to 11 points from Garside and six from Plesser. After the Valiants got back within a bucket at the midway point of the half, Union went on a 14-2 run over the next five minutes to grab a 33-19 advantage after a Plesser three-point play with 4:20 on the clock. The teams traded baskets for the rest of the frame and Union took a 44-29 edge in the locker rooms, thanks to 16-of-25 shooting (64.0 percent) in the opening 20 minutes.
 
The home team continued to roll in the second half, with the advantage never falling below 14 points at any point. Two Dufort freebies with 10:43 left grew the lead to 20 points for the first time and the lead ballooned to as many as 29 with 2:58 on the clock, when first-year Trace Moffitt hit a three to finish off a 10-0 run and put the Garnet Chargers up 88-59. Moffitt had five points and classmate Cade Furse had four during the run, as Moffitt finished the game with eight points on 3-of-3 shooting.
 
The only negative on the day for Union was its 20 turnovers, which Manhattanville converted into 20 points at the other end. The Valiants also had a 16-0 edge in second-chance points on the day.
 
Union and Trinity will battle for the Sig Makofski title tomorrow at 4:00 p.m., after Manhattanville and Russell Sage face off in the consolation round beginning at 2 p.m.