GREENSBORO, N.C. – Marcus Curry's basket with 7.7 seconds left in regulation lifted Guilford College to an 80-77 basketball win over nationally ranked Skidmore College Saturday.
The Thoroughbreds (6-2), which lost its second straight game, entered the game ranked 18th in the current D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll. Guilford (5-6) ended a three-game losing skid.
Curry added a free throw with one second left to provide the game's final margin. He finished with 20 points, 16 in the second half and 11 in the final 3:07. The junior forward scored each of the Quakers' final five field goals and 11 of his team's last 13 points.
After Curry's go-ahead score, Skidmore quickly advanced the ball and Chase Ta got off a runner in the lane, which the Quakers' Carson Long swatted away. Curry corralled the rebound and was fouled with a second left. He made the first free throw but missed the second, which Skidmore rebounded and quickly called for time. The Quakers' Alston Thompson deflected the ensuing inbounds pass to prevent a desperation shot attempt.
The entertaining contest featured 11 ties and 11 lead changes. Skidmore led by as many as 10 in the first half before Guilford freshman Joah Logan caught fire and rallied the Quakers to within 41-39 at halftime. Logan scored 17 of his career- and team-best 22 points in the first half, including 10 straight in the final two minutes. He made four of his five three-pointers in the opening frame.
Guilford rode the momentum into the second half and opened a 55-47 lead with 15 minutes left in regulation on a Thompson layup. Skidmore answered with an 8-0 run fueled by six Edvinas Rupkus points and knotted the score at 55-55. Neither club led by more than three points the rest of the way.
With second-leading scorer Dakpe Yiljep in foul trouble, Rupkus (18) and Jack Byrne (9) combined for 27 of Skidmore's 36 second-half points. Rupkus finished with a game-high 32 points on 11-of-14 field-goal shooting, including four-of-five from long distance. He also had three assists and three rebounds. Byrne knocked down five three-pointers (3 in the second half) on the way to 17 points off the bench. Skidmore shot 52.8 percent from the floor, including 13-of-28 from three-point range.
Guilford shot 51.7 percent for the game, 55.2% in the decisive second half. Thompson made seven-of-10 shots for 17 points, and also had five boards and a block for the hosts. Curry led the Quakers' glass-cleaners with a game-high eight boards and added four assists. Long scored nine points and teammate Jarrod Rogers added seven points and seven assists in a 40-minute effort.
Coach Tom Palombo's Quakers host unbeaten league rival Emory & Henry College Wednesday (1/3) at 5:30 p.m. in the Ragan-Brown Field House.