Ed Rupkus explodes for 39 in Liberty League quarterfinal win
Skidmore wins Liberty League quarterfinal, 68-62 at Ithaca
ITHACA, N.Y.» Edvinas Rupkus scored a season-high 39 points to lead the Skidmore College men’s basketball team to a 68-62 in over Ithaca College in a Liberty League quarterfinal game Tuesday night in Ben Light Gymnasium.
The fift-h seeded Thoroughbreds move into the Liberty League semifinals for the ninth straight year.
Skidmore (14-11) will travel to Geneva to take on top-seed Hobart in a 2 p.m. on Saturday. The winner will face the winner of the RIT and Union semifinal in Sunday’s championship game at Hobart.
Ithaca had no answer for Rupkus who scored 27 of his 39 points in the second half. The talented junior was a perfect 13-13 (12-12 in the second half) from the line and 12-20 from the floor.
Noah Meren was also in double figures for the Thoroughbreds with 11 points, three blocks, and five steals. Ty Lamport has a careerhigh seven points off the bench.
Miles Herman scored 18 off the bench for Ithaca, while Peter Ezema had a double/double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
The Bombers took its largest lead of the game, 3021 with 2:10 to play in the first half. Skidmore whittled it back to six at the half, 32-26. Skidmore struggled from three-point range in the half, hitting only 3-of14 (21.4%).
The officials tightened it up in the second half, calling a combined 31 fouls. Skidmore took advantage, going 19-21 (90.5%) from the line. The Bombers had two players foul out, while the Thoroughbreds finished the game with three players at four fouls.
Skidmore kept it close to start the second half, taking the lead with 14:15 to play 39-38 on an old fashioned three-point play by Meren. The Thoroughbreds never trailed after that thanks to clutch shooting by Rupkus.
Up 60-59, Rupkus hit a pair of free throws with 1:31 to play to make it 6259. Two possessions later he drained a three-pointer as the shot clock expired and the game clock read :19 to effectively put the game away 65-59.
“Gutsy effort by the guys,” said Skidmore coach Joe Burke. “Winning on the road is hard, winning on the road in the playoffs is even harder. Usually it takes a special effort by one or two guys on the offensive end and the team to really lock in as a group defensively and we got both of those tonight.
“We earned a seat at the table and now it’s up to us to figure out how much we want to eat. I’m pretty sure we will be hungry again come Saturday.”
For the game, Skidmore was 21-56 (37.5) from the floor, including 4-22 (18.2%) from beyond the arc. The Thoroughbreds hit 22 of 28 (78.6) free throws. Ithaca was 23-55 (41.8%) from the floor and 1-8 from threepoint range. The Bombers went 15-19 (78.9) from the line. PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y.» The College of Saint Rose shot better than 50.0 percent from the floor forth the tenth time this year to upend host Northeast-10 Conference rival Pace University 84-64 in its regular-season finale Tuesday.
The Golden Knights buried 55.4 percent (31-for-56) of their shots from the floor, including 63.2 percent (12for-19) from the arc, and got 32 points from their bench.
Saint Rose will now host Bentley in an NE10 Quarterfinal Sunday. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 pm at the Daniel P. Nolan Gymnasium.
The Golden Knights are the second-seed out of the Southwest Division, while the Falcons are the third seed from the Northeast Division. Saint Rose upended host Bentley 81-73 in this year’s lone meeting between the two squads.
Senior forward Julian Lipinski went 7-for-10 from the field on the way to a game-high 17 points this evening. Junior guard Shane Herrity finished with 12 points, eight assists, and five rebounds; while sophomore guard Michael Wearne and senior forward Jack Jones added 11 and 10 points respectively.
Saint Rose built a 4330 halftime lead and then put the game out of reach by canning four of its first five 3-point attempts of the second half that yielded a 25-point, 63-38, cushion with 12:52 remaining.
The Golden Knighs will host Bentley in the NE-10 quarterfinal Sunday afternoon. PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. » Sophomore guard Takora McIntyre converted a layup with 2.6 seconds remaining to propel The College of Saint Rose to an important 51-49 Northeast-10 Conference win at Pace University Tuesday night.
In the process, the Golden Knights secured a ticket to the upcoming NE10 Championship Tournament. Saint Rose, a fifth seed out of the Southwest Division, will visit Southern New Hampshire for a 7 p.m. first round game Friday. The Penmen, who are a fourth-seed from the Northeast Division, squeaked out a 69-66 road victory in the only meeting between the two teams this season.
Junior guard Isa Vara de Rey finished 6-for-12 from the floor to lead the Golden Knights (10-16/8-12 NE10) with 14 points tonight. Junior forward Karissa Birthwright added 11 points and eight rebounds to help Saint Rose erase a 10 point, 20-10, first period deficit.
The Golden Knights responded to their early deficit by reeling off the first 11 points of the second period to take a 25-24 halftime lead. Saint Rose held Pace to a mere 9.1 percent (1-for-11) shooting throughout the second quarter.
It was a one possession throughout the second half, before senior guard Gabriella Rubin set the stage for McIntyre by knocking down a trey with 10 ticks left to knot the game 49-49. ALBANY, N.Y. » With the UAlbany men’s lacrosse dominant victory over Syracuse, two Great Danes shared the three America East weekly awards this period.
Tehoka Nanticoke was honored as the America East Offensive Player of the Week and Rookie of the Week while JD Colarusso was chosen as the America East Defensive Player of the Week.
Nanticoke earns his firstever conference weekly awards while Colarusso picks up his second career conference weekly honor.
The two helped UAlbany earn its strongest season opening victory with a 15-3 win at #8/7 Syracuse on Saturday. UAlbany jumped to #2 in each the USILA Coaches Poll and the Inside Lacrosse Maverik Media Poll this week.
Nanticoke made his UAlbany debut on Saturday afternoon with five goals against the Orange, leading all scorers that game. He also had a caused turnover and a ground ball.
Redshirt senior Colarusso stood in goal for UAlbany against Syracuse, allowing just three goals, the best against the Orange since 1991. He saved 10 shots for a 76.9% save rate.
UAlbany will get set for its home opener on Saturday, February 24th at 12 p.m. against Drexel in Tom & Mary Casey Stadium. Go to ualbanysports.com/tickets to purchase your tickets today. ALBANY, N.Y. » The University at Albany women’s lacrosse team plays its second consecutive road game to open the season when it visits Syracuse on Thursday for a 5 p.m. faceoff at the Carrier Dome.
The Great Danes are coming off a 12-10 setback in this past Saturday’s season-opener at Yale. Three UAlbany players scored twice, including freshman Kendra Harbinger, who netted goals on two of her three shots in her collegiate debut.
The Orange (2-0), ranked No. 4 in this week’s IWLCA Poll and No. 5 in the Inside Lacrosse media poll, is coming off this past Sunday’s 1711 road win over Oregon.
Syracuse leads the alltime series with UAlbany 10-0, but each of the past two meetings have been decided by just a goal. The Orange won 13-12 at the Carrier Dome last season and 8-7 in Albany in 2016.
UAlbany interim head coach Jessica Davos is a Syracuse graduate (2002).
Davos (formerly DeRosa), was a four-year letterwinner for the Orange, helping Syracuse to three NCAA Tournament appearances. Davos started all 16 games on defense her senior season and recorded 17 ground balls.
The Great Danes’ roster includes just three seniors – Powlin as well as defenders Mary McAvey and Shannon Mackesey – and one junior, midfielder Kaylee Rickert. UAlbany started nine underlcassmen in its season opener – eight sophomores and one freshman (Kyla Zapolski, midfield).
The No. 4/5 Orange, of the Atlantic Coast Conference, defeated Connecticut (23-11) and Oregon (17-11) in its first two games.
Syracuse was picked to finish second in the ACC Preseason Poll. Senior Riley Donahue and junior Alexa Radziewicz were named to the Preseason All-ACC Team.