TROY, N.Y. – Senior guard Travis Jones scored a game-best 16 points, including 12 from beyond the arc, to lead the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's basketball team to a narrow 65-63 victory over Skidmore College in Liberty League action at East Campus Arena.  With the win, the Engineers move to 13-7 with a 7-3 conference mark.  The Thoroughbreds slip to 13-9 overall and 7-4 in Liberty League play.

RPI, which overcame an early nine-point deficit in the opening stanza, held a 34-27 advantage entering the final 20 minutes of play.  A layup by senior Andrew Darst (Tampa, FL/Jesuit) at 17:04 gave the Engineers their largest lead of the half with a 43-30 lead, but the visitors kept things close.

Skidmore sophomore Kevin Dahill (Dobbs Ferry, NY/Dobbs Ferry) sank a shot to make it a seven-point deficit (43-36) with 14:16 remaining, and the Thoroughbreds continued to keep chipping away, trailing by five (49-44) at the 10:50 mark on a 3-point shot from junior John Mantas (Niskayuna, NY/Christian Brothers Academy).

The Engineers responded, building their lead back up to eight (56-48) with 7:09 left on the clock as Jones (East Greenbush, NY/Columbia) nailed a jumper and later sank a shot from beyond the arc – one of his game-high four shots from downtown – to regain the double-digit lead (59-50) for RPI with 4:10 left.

Rensselaer continued to hold an 11-point lead (63-52) with 1:34 left in the game, but the Thoroughbreds kept the pressure on till the end as junior Gerard O'Shea (West Sand Lake, NY/Averill Park) hit a pair from the line and Mantas nailed a shot from 3-point range to make it a six-point lead with just over a minute remaining.

Junior Terron Victoria (Albany, NY/Bishop Maginn) sank a layup with 22 seconds on the clock and picked up a key rebound seconds later as sophomore Sakhile Sithole (Saratoga Springs, NY/Episcopal) hit a shot from inside the paint and sank another on a tip-in with a second left in the game to make it 65-63.

On the RPI inbound, Skidmore was able to gain possession, but Victoria's shot from half-court was just shy of the basket as time expired.

In addition to Jones, the Engineers saw sophomore Daniel Martin (Cohasset, MA/Cohasset) post 12 points with six rebounds and a game-best four blocks.  Darst chipped in with seven points and a team-high nine rebounds.

For the Thoroughbreds, Victoria added 10 points with nine rebounds, while juniors Melvis Langyintuo (Tamale, Ghana/The Lawrenceville School) and Brian Lowry (West Hartford, CT/St. George's School) also had 10 points apiece.  Senior Jeff Altimar (Medfield, MA/Medfield) added a game-high 10 rebounds.

RPI is back in action on Saturday, hosting Union at 4pm for Senior Appreciation Day.  Skidmore heads to Poughkeepsie for a 4pm matchup against Vassar.