CANTON, N.Y. – Despite a career-high 38 points from junior Jack Plesser, the Union College men's basketball team suffered a 74-58 loss to St. Lawrence University in the final game of the regular season on Saturday afternoon at Ronald T. Berkman Gymnasium.
 
Even with the loss, Union (19-6, 14-4 Liberty League) still earned its first top-two regular-season finish since 2017-18 thanks to Vassar College's loss to Ithaca College. As a result, the Garnet Chargers will host the semifinals of the Liberty League Tournament on Friday night at Viniar Athletic Center.
 
Plesser was dominant for Union on the afternoon, moving into a tie for ninth place on the school single-game scoring list with his career-best effort, which saw him hit 16-of-23 shots from the field. The 16 field goals are tied for fourth-most in a game in program history and the most in over 56 years since Union Athletics Hall of Famer Jim Tedisco '72 sunk 17 shots against Stevens Institute of Technology on September 14, 1970. Plesser also moved into sixth place on the school single-season scoring list with 542 points so far this season.
 
Unfortunately for Union, the rest of the team shot just 7-for-31 on the day and accounted for only 20 points, while St. Lawrence (13-13, 11-7 Liberty League) connected at a 55.6 percent (25 of 45) clip from the field and a lights-out 70.0 percent (14 of 20) rate from three-point range.
 
Union went on an 8-0 run to take a 17-14 lead with 10:30 to go in the opening half, with Plesser scoring six points to lead the garnet charge. However, the half went downhill from there for the visitors: Union missed its final 10 shots of the period and turned the ball over four times as St. Lawrence went on a 22-3 run to take a 37-22 advantage into halftime.
 
The Garnet Chargers finished the first half shooting 36.4 percent (8 of 22) from the field with seven turnovers, while the Saints shot at a 58.3 percent (14 of 24) clip and sunk 6-of-11 shots from long range.
 
Union made its biggest run midway through the second half, scoring 12 straight points – nine from Plesser and three from first-year Cade Furse – to get within seven points at 50-43 with 10:56 remaining. The deficit was whittled down to six at 60-54 with 6:20 left after a Plesser layup and a three by senior Christian Dufort, but the visitors missed their next nine shots over the next four minutes as SLU went on a 14-0 run to seal the win.
 
Union will await the winner of Tuesday's first-round matchup between third-seeded Vassar College and sixth-seeded Skidmore College in the semifinal round on Friday evening. Check UnionAthletics.com early next week for game information and a full tournament preview.