SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Skidmore College men's basketball team snagged a victory from the jaws of defeat, erasing a late seven-point deficit, triumphing in overtime with a 94-83 victory over Union in Liberty League action at the Williamson Sports Center Saturday afternoon.
 
Skidmore sweeps its Capital Region foes to remain unbeaten in league action at 4-0, 8-2 overall. Union drops consecutive games, falling to 4-5 overall and 1-3 in the league. Skidmore won its ninth straight game against Union.
 
Skidmore persevered in the game's final two minutes, despite losing two of its starters to foul trouble in the second half.  With 2:17 to go in regulation, and facing a 76-69 deficit, the Thoroughbreds made a last push. Coming off the timeout, a well scripted play found Chase Ta with the layup in traffic, absorbing the foul and later converting on the and-one play, bringing Union's lead to 76-72 at the 1:58 mark. With 51 seconds remaining, Jack Byrne fought through a pair of Union defenders, flying above the rim to tip in a missed shot, making the score 76-74. After the Skidmore defense forced a Union miss, Pat Gallagher provided the dramatics, getting into the lane and finishing with the layup while getting fouled with six seconds left. Gallagher was unable to make the ensuing free throw, but Union's final chance fell short to force the extra session.
 
In overtime, Skidmore flexed its muscles with a quick 6-0 run. The Thoroughbreds never looked back from there, outscoring Union 18-7 in the extra session to finish off the victory.
 
"This was a tough game to put into words," said head coach Joe Burke. "All I can say is that I am extremely proud of our kids and my assistant coach Rey Crossman. As the Head Coach I have tried to build a program so that no matter who is on the court or on the sidelines things are to work a certain way. Our guys stayed the course through adversity and found a way to get the job done."
 
Despite the struggles, the Thoroughbreds were able to outrebound the Dutchmen by a 43-36 margin, and saw a balanced scoring effort, with six players in double digits. Dakpe Yiljep set a career-high with 28 points, adding 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. In his first start of the season, Byrne came up big with 15 points on 5-for-11 shooting from the field, adding a career-best 12 rebounds for his first career double-double. Chase Ta added a season-best 15 points with nine rebounds and two steals. Gallagher, Skidmore's hero in the final seconds, added 13 points off the bench, with three steals and four rebounds.  Edvinas Rupkus, plagued by foul trouble for much of the game, still finished with 13 points on an efficient 6-for-9 shooting from the field, adding six rebounds. Noah Meren finished with 10 points and five rebounds before fouling out. Skidmore shot 52.3 percent from the field as a team.
 
Greg King and Kevin Duckworth combined for 50 of Union's 83 points. Aaron Gordon and Jackson Mannix each finished with nine points.
 
It was a hot start by the Thoroughbreds, racing to an early 11-4 lead in the game's first 3:05. The game slowed down a bit due to foul trouble, and Union was able to take advantage, converting at the free throw line to narrow the deficit. A 7-0 run gave Union its first lead of the game, at 28-26, with 6:22 remaining in the opening half. The teams traded leads for the next four minutes, before Ta tied the game at 33 with a jumper at the 1:27 mark. Union sank a pair of threes, including the buzzer-beater by King, to take a 39-33 lead into the half.
 
The Thoroughbreds went on a 7-0 run in the early stages of the second half to take a brief 44-43 lead at the 15:38 mark. Once again, the lead would go back and forth, before a Weckworth jumper gave the Dutchmen the lead at 57-55. Skidmore could come back again and take the lead, leading by as many as three, when a Yiljep tip-in gave Skidmore a 67-64 advantage at the 4:27 mark. Union would take the lead for the final time on a strange four-point play on the next posession, taking a 68-67 lead. Union would stretch its lead to seven in a two-minute stretch, before Skidmore buckled down for the comeback.
 
The Thoroughbreds will look ahead to a season-long, seven-game road trip that will stretch through the month of January. That trip begins in Poughkeepsie on Tuesday, as Skidmore faces Vassar at 8 p.m.