SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – The Union College men's basketball team shot a red-hot 57.1 percent from the field to hold off a strong challenge from Rochester Institute of Technology and clinch a postseason berth with a 100-98 victory on Friday night at Viniar Athletic Center.
 
The win not only puts Union in the postseason but also keeps alive the team's hopes for a home playoff game, as Union (14-10, 10-7 Liberty League) remains in a tie with Hobart College for fourth place. The two teams will square off tomorrow in Schenectady for the fourth seed.
 
Friday's night game was an offensive showcase for both squads, as Union ended the night shooting 36-of-63 (57.1 percent) from the field and RIT came in at 52.1 percent (37 of 70). Both teams shot well from distance, with the Tigers hitting 19-of-38 attempts from long range and the Garnet Chargers finishing 10-of-22.  The difference in the game came from the charity stripe, as the nation's top-ranked free-throw unit hit 18-of-20 attempts from the line while RIT only made seven trips and made five.
 
The home team hit their first 18 freebies of the night to weather a hot-shooting Tigers team, but actually gave RIT a chance in the final seconds after a pair of misses from sophomore Tanner Tedesco kept it a 100-98 game with 10 seconds left. But in a game where defensive stops were at a premium, first-year Harrison Collins forced Matt Caggiano into a fadeaway jumper in the final seconds that did not fall to give Union the victory.
 
Six players scored in double figures for Union on the evening, led by sophomore Jack Plesser with 25 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the field. Classmate Matthew Garside finished with 22 points, five assists and four rebounds, while Tedesco had the unconventional double-double of 15 points and 10 assists. Fellow sophomore Brendan Reid just missed a double-double with 11 points and a game-high nine rebounds, while junior Christian Dufort also chipped in 11 points and sophomore Jaden Jauregui added 10 points off the bench.
 
Both teams shot 58 percent from the field in a high-flying first 20 minutes of action, with RIT scoring last to take a 50-49 lead into the half. RIT hit 18-of-31 shots from the field and an excellent 9-of-15 from long range, while Union hit 20-of-34 shots and 5-of-14 from long range.
 
The Garnet Chargers hit nine of their first 10 shots from the field to take the largest lead of the half for either side, a 23-16 advantage with 13:48 left. RIT kept hitting its shots too, however, and a quick 10-3 run for the visitors evened the score at 26 at the midway point of the half. At one point the teams scored on five straight possessions to keep up the frenetic pace later in the period, and sophomore Will Yakoobian hit a jumper in the final minute to put the home team up by two before a last-second three from Brody Brown gave the Tigers the edge at the break.
 
The teams traded the lead a dizzying eight times in the first four minutes of the second half, as Union struggled to keep pace with an RIT offense that hit 12 of its first 17 shots to take an 82-69 lead with 10:58 remaining. The Tiger advantage was still 13 at 87-74 with 8:21 to go, but the Garnet Charger offense would not let RIT run away with the game. A Garside three and Tedesco three-point play got the deficit back within single digits, and that was followed soon after by a critical 12-0 run that saw Union limit RIT to 0-of-5 shooting. Dufort capped the run with a three to put Union back ahead 96-63 with 1:50 on the clock.
 
After Zac Ditzel responded with a three to tie the score, Garside answered with a tough layup in traffic to put Union up 98-96 with 69 seconds left. Union forced RIT to miss three shots on the next possession and Garside sunk a pair of free throws – Union's 17th and 18th in a row to start the game – to make it a 100-96 lead with 24 ticks remaining, helping the team to hold on in the waning seconds.
 
Union will finish off the regular season tomorrow with a fourth-place battle against Hobart, set to tip off at 4 p.m. at Viniar Athletic Center.