GENEVA, N.Y.— Union College outscored Skidmore College 43-31 in the second half on the way to claiming its second straight Liberty League men's basketball title 82-65  Sunday afternoon at Hobart College.
 
The fifth seeded Thoroughbreds end the season 15-12, while the second seeded Dutchmen move into the NCAA Division III tournament with an 18-8 record.
 
It was the third meeting of the season between the teams. Skidmore won 94-83 in OT on Jan. 6 at home, while Union took the Jan. 26 rematch 78-67.
 
Edvinas Rupkus led the Thoroughbreds with 15 points before leaving the game with an injury at the start of the second half. Noah Meren added 15 points and four assists. Chas Ta contributed 11 points and three assists.
 
Rupkus and Meren were selected to the all-tournament team.
 
Tournament MVP Kevin Weckworth led the Dutchmen with 30 points, 20 in the second half. Kevin McNoble added 14.
 
The game opened with a 7-0 Union run, before Jack Morrow drilled an NBA three to get Skidmore on the board at the 18:00 mark. The Thoroughbreds rode that to 15-3 run to go up 15-10 with 14:16 left. Rupkus had five of the points to break his own single season scoring record of 580 points. The junior guard moved the standard to 593 points.
 
The game stayed tight the rest of the half, with Weckworth hitting a three at the buzzer to give the Dutchmen a 39-34 advantage at the break. Rupkus finished the half with 15 points, while Yiljep had eight and a huge block.
 
Union took full advantage of Rupkus' absence in the second half, opening the period with a 12-3 run to go up 51-37. The Dutchmen pused the lead to as many as 25 on the way to the 82-65 final.

Skidmore was playing in its ninth straight conference tournament.