SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – For the fourth time in five seasons the Skidmore College men's basketball team will get a chance to lift the Liberty League trophy.
 
Skidmore, the top seed, held off a furious Ithaca charge to come out with an 82-77 victory in the league semifinal, held in a packed Williamson Sports Center Saturday afternoon.
 
Skidmore (18-7) wins its sixth straight game and will host third-seeded Hobart in the Liberty League Championship game Sunday at 2 p.m. Ithaca, the fourth seed, finishes its season at 16-11.
 
The Thoroughbreds got big game performances from senior guard Edvinas Rupkus and sophomore guard Noah Meren. Rupkus finished with a season-high 31 points, adding seven rebounds, three assists, two steals, and two blocked shots. Meren tallied his second straight double-double with 28 points (9-of-18 from the field) and 10 rebounds, adding five assists and a pair of blocked shots. Senior guard Chase Ta added 10 points, adding seven rebounds, five assists and two steals. Skidmore shot 45.2 percent (28-of-62) from the field in the win.
 
Sebastian Alderete was on fire for Ithaca early, finishing with 29 points, adding seven rebounds and three steals. Alderete hit his first six 3-pointers, finishing 6-of-9 from beyond the arc. Riley Thompson added 10 points.
 
"First I need to thank the crowd," said head coach Joe Burke. "Once again they provided an unbelievable atmosphere for college basketball. The students and the community showed up in full force and they were a huge impact on us winning the game."
 
Skidmore took off after a fairly even 13 minutes of regulation. Tied at 19, the Thoroughbreds went off on a 10-0 run, capped off by a steal from Ta and a Meren finish at the basket as Skidmore held a 29-19 lead at the 5:53 mark. The Bombers chipped away at the deficit, with Alderete finishing the half with a 3-pointer as Skidmore led 41-39 at the half. Both teams shot 48.5 percent (16-of-33) from the field in the opening 20 minutes.
 
Ithaca would start the second half with a flurry of 3-pointers, with Thompson and Alderete sparking an 11-0 run in 2:50, giving Ithaca its largest lead of the game at 50-41. Skidmore would get to work from there. A well-run inbounds play freed up Meren with the easy dunk as Skidmore cut the deficit to six (51-45). That sent the fans into a frenzy and fired up the Thoroughbreds. On the next possession, Rupkus picked Ithaca's Peter Ezema's pocket, then spotting up and launching a bomb from deep, cutting the deficit in half.
 
Ithaca tried to hold off the Skidmore run, but the Thoroughbreds were not to be denied. With Ithaca nursing a six-point, 60-54 lead at the 11:47 mark, a jumper by freshman center Greg Skoric and another Meren dunk sparked a 9-2 push. A traditional three-point play by Meren gave Skidmore its first lead of the half, 63-62 with 8:28 to go.
 
Skidmore and Ithaca traded leads for a few minutes. With the score tied at 67 with five minutes to go, sophomore guard Ty Lamport hit a crucial 3-pointer from the corner, giving Skidmore its final lead at 70-67. Ithaca tried to make it a game in the final two minutes, but the Thoroughbreds went 9-of-11 from the free throw line over the final 2:36, icing the game.
 
"I was really pleased with how we competed," said Burke. "We have some banged up guys and I know everyone does this time of the year but this group refused to give in when they could have. We had some big offensive possessions down the stretch in big spots but I thought we won the game on defense.  Ithaca is a very hard team to guard and I felt like we kept to the game plan and eventually won out."
 
In the first semifinal, Hobart shot lights out on its way to a 68-49 win over St. Lawrence.
 
The win was the first in three tries this season for the Statesmen over the Saints and has the third seed in the championship game for the fifth time in the last eight years. Hobart is 17-10, while St. Lawrence ends its season at 16-10.
 
Colin Dougherty led all scorers with 21 points on 9-15 shooting. He had a game-high seven rebounds and five assists. Tucker Lescoe (14) and Jamal Lucas (16) were also in double figures for the Statesmen. Lescoe hit an early three to reach the 1000-point career mark.
 
Riley Nacierio topped the Saints with 13 points and six blocks, while Ben Crawford added 10 points and seven rebounds. 
 
Lescoe's 3-pointer, his 1,000th-point of his career, put Hobart up 12-8 with 14:02 left in the first half. The basket keyed an 8-1 run that opened a 20-9 lead. Lescoe capped the run with an NBA three. The Statesmen extended the lead to 13 at the break, 32-19. St. Lawrence shot a dismal 25% from the floor in the first stanza, hitting 7-28 from the floor, including 2-8 from three-point range. Hobart went 4-8 from beyond the arc and 14-26 (53.8%) overall.
 
The Statesmen kept the lead in double figures early in the second half, pushing the lead to 48-31 on an old fashion three-point play with 13:50 to play. The Saints were unable to get any closer than 11 the rest of the way.
 
"We have a quick turnaround so we need to get some rest and come ready mentally in the morning," added Burke. "It's an exciting opportunity to compete on our home court against an opponent we have great history with in another championship game."
 
Skidmore and Hobart have split the first two games of the season series, with each team winning at home. This is the third straight year that Skidmore will meet Hobart in the postseason, but the first meeting in a championship setting since 2012. Hobart beat top-seeded Skidmore on the road in the 2017 semifinal and Skidmore returned the favor last year, defeating top-seeded Hobart on the road, also in the semis.