SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Fourteen different Garnet Chargers recorded at least two points as the Union College men's basketball team, receiving votes in the latest D3hoops.com national poll, cruised past Bard College by an 89-60 score to increase its winning streak to eight games on Friday night at Viniar Athletic Center.
 
Union (12-2, 7-0 Liberty League) spread the wealth on the offensive side of the ball on Friday, with junior Jack Plesser leading the way with a game-high 18 points on 9-of-12 shooting and 10 rebounds in 24 minutes of action. Senior Christian Dufort added 14 points and junior Matthew Garside chipped in 10 to round out the double-digit scorers, while fellow junior Tanner Tedesco chipped in six points, eight assists, five rebounds and three steals in a well-rounded effort.
 
Bard (1-13, 0-7 Liberty League) shot well from long range in the early going to take an 11-10 lead at the first media timeout, but the home team responded with a 10-0 run – getting five points each from Dufort and first-year Pat Cullinan – to grab the lead back at 20-11 with 11:40 on the clock. Union never relinquished the lead again for the night, helped by an 11-1 run to end the half that put the Garnet Chargers up 44-29 at the break.
 
Union essentially sealed the win with a 10-2 stretch to start the second half, with a Garside layup putting Union up 54-31 with 16:50 remaining. The lead never fell below 19 points the rest of the way, helped by seven points from first-year Trace Moffitt and five from classmate Cade Furse in the latter stages. The Garnet Chargers shot an even 50.0 percent (17 of 34) from the field over the final 20 minutes and recorded 21 bench points to Bard's eight.
 
The home team had another solid shooting night, ending the game at 48.6 percent (35 of 72) from the field and 8-of-22 (36.4 percent) from beyond the arc. The Garnet Chargers also posted a decisive 47-31 edge on the boards and did well in transition to the tune of an 18-4 fast-break advantage.
 
Union will finish off a challenging week tomorrow with a 5 p.m. tipoff against Vassar College.