PLATTSBURGH, N.Y.—The Skidmore College men's basketball team lost to #14 Plattsburgh State 83-75 on the road Wednesday night.
The Thoroughbreds are 1-1, while the Cardinals move to 2-0.
Senior All-American
Edvinas Rupkus became Skidmore's all-time leading scorer after leading all players with 22 points. The talented guard has 1,693 points, passing former teammate Aldin Medunjanin '17 (1684) and Brian Culkin '01 (1689).
Rupkus had a double/double with 10 rebounds to go along with three assists and a steal. He shot 8-13 (.615) from the floor.
Noah Meren added 20 points and
Jack Byrne had 12 points off the bench.
Brandon Johnson led four Plattsburgh players in double figures with 18 points.
The Cardinals led the entire game, but the Thoroughbreds kept it tight the entire way.
The first half stayed within two possessions until Plattsburgh took its biggest lead of the game, 34-22 with 3:17 left. A pair of threes from Rupkus and Byrne, followed by a
Greg Skoric field goal, cut it to 37-34 at the break.
Skidmore opened the second half with a thundering dunk by Meren and a lay-up by Skoric to tie it 37-37. Plattsburgh responded with a 15-5 run to open it back up to 10, 52-42 with 13:56 left.
The Thoroughbreds whittled the deficit down to two 64-62 with 7:55 left and kept it to within two possessions for most of the final minutes, until the Cardinals hit free throws down the end for the 83-75 final.
On the game, I thought we played well in stretches but we need to get things a little tighter to beat an experienced team like that on the road," said Skidmore coach Joe Burke. "They start five seniors and are coming off a sweet 16 appearance so we knew we would have our hands full. That being said, we had the game where we wanted with a minute left but just came up short. We will get better from this and our young kids that we are playing learned a lot.
"As for Ed's accomplishments, it's hard for me to put into words what he has meant to me, his teammates and this program. He has rewritten the record books, he is an incredible student and one of the best people I have ever been around. No matter what route he chooses, whether it is professionally on the court or in the financial world he has an incredible future ahead of him. For now though, I know he is super excited about blending our young guys with our veterans and leading this team to a great year."
Skidmore is off until Nov. Â 20 when the Hartwick visits the Williamson Center for a 7 p.m. game.
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