Post-season playoffs in the cards?

With playoffs right around the corner for Skidmore winter athletes, men’s basketball moved into prime position in the Liberty League standings with an undefeated week. Women’s basketball stayed in the playoff hunt by beating league-leader St. Lawrence and ice hockey closed out its regular season schedule with a home-and-home against Castleton.

Men’s basketball extended its winning streak to four with a 3-0 week. The team erased an 18-point second-half deficit in a 76-71 victory over St. Lawrence on Tuesday night. The Thoroughbreds outscored the Saints 39-16 over the final 13:50 of the game to earn the win. Royce Paris ’17 scored a season-high 19 points off the bench, going 5 for 7 from the field, Connor Merrill ’15 tied for a game high with 19 points and Aldin Medunjanin ’16 had 18 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals.

The Thoroughbreds carried the momentum into the weekend, recording blowouts against regional rivals RPI and Union. The team shot a season-high 58 percent (29-50) and 71 percent (17-24) in the first half and beat the Engineers 77-58. Medunjanin led all players with 22 points on 8 of 11 shooting, going 6 for 9 from 3-point range, and Merrill chipped in 16 points and eight boards. Skidmore’s hot shooting continued on Saturday, as five players scored in double figures in a 95-78 victory over Union. Erik Sanders ’16 led the team with 19 points and a team-high five assists, Paris contributed 19 points and six rebounds and Martin Bedulskij ’18 produced 14 points and six boards. The team finished 33 for 57 from the field for the game, going 15 for 25 from beyond the arc. The Thoroughbreds, who currently sit atop the Liberty League standings, play at St. Lawrence at 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 20, before hosting their final regular-season contest of the season against Clarkson at 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22.

Women’s basketball went to overtime in all three of its games, knocking off league-leader St. Lawrence and falling against RPI and Union. Kelly Donnelly ’18, Angela Botiba ’15 and Amber Holgate ’16 scored 15 points each in the team’s 67-65 win against the Saints. Donnelly scored all of her points in the second half, earning her fourth double-double of the season with 15 rebounds. The Thoroughbreds hung on for the win after outscoring St. Lawrence 9-2 over the first 4:48 of overtime behind an Ella Scheuerell ’16 3-pointer, four points from Botiba and two from Donnelly.

The team had its seven-game home win streak snapped by RPI in a 75-71 contest. Holgate gave Skidmore a 66-61 lead with 1:01 remaining in regulation, but the Engineers closed out the second half with five straight points to force overtime. RPI used an 8-0 run in the extra frame to pull away for the win. Donnelly and Botiba each recorded double-doubles. Donnelly contributed 13 points and 10 boards, while Botiba tallied 10 points to go along with a game-high 14 rebounds. Scheuerell had 10 points and Molly McLaughlin ’15 had a game-high nine assists. Donnelly drained a deep 3-pointer with 10 seconds left in regulation to force overtime against Union on Saturday. The team led by five in the extra frame, but the Dutchwomen’s Amy Fisher hit back-to-back threes, including one in the game’s final six seconds to steal the 60-59 win for Union. Donnelly posted her third consecutive double-double with a game-high 21 points to go along with 11 rebounds. Botiba also added a double-double with 16 points and a game-high 15 boards.

Ice hockey dropped its final two contests of the regular season against Castleton. Zach Arden ’18 scored the Thoroughbreds’ lone goal in a 4-1 defeat Friday night. The team led 3-2 in the game’s dying minutes on Saturday, but the Spartans netted two power-play goals over the final 2:22 to secure a 4-3 win. Arden tallied his second goal in as many nights and goals from Connor Pelkey ’18 and Anthony Bird ’17 gave Skidmore a 3-1 lead, but the team could not hang on. Marc Cibelli ’17 had a pair of assists in the defeat and goalie Jack McDonald ’17 stopped 23 shots, including 11 in the third period. The team goes on the road to take on No. 6 UMass Boston in the ECAC East quarterfinals at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21. ~ By Dan St.-Jacques