TROY, N.Y. – Trailing at the half, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's basketball team turned up the offense in the second half by hitting eight threes in the second half en route to a 72-54 victory over the Skidmore Thoroughbreds at East Campus Arena Tuesday night in the first round of the Liberty League Tournament.
 
With the win, RPI improves to a 17-8 overall record, while Skidmore finishes their season with a 13-13 record and an 11-7 record in league play. The Engineers will now head to Ithaca to take on the top-seeded Bombers in the semifinal round of the Liberty League Tournament Friday night at 8 p.m.
 
Skidmore began the game on a 3-for-4 run, which led into the Thoroughbreds carrying a lead through a majority of the first half. Skidmore got out to a 16-11 lead with 11:05 to play in the first half, their largest lead in the first 20 minutes. From there, RPI battled back as Avery Eugster's second three of the ballgame pulled the Engineers within a point, 20-19, at the 8:04 mark.
 
90 seconds later, Eugster connected on a layup to give the Engineers their first lead of the game, 21-20. Both sides turned the game into a defensive battle over the final six minutes of the first half, with Skidmore taking a 29-28 advantage into the locker room at the half. Mark Engel hit a pair of free throws for the Thoroughbreds with four seconds left to wrap up the first frame.
 
Johnny Angbazo opened the second half with a three-ball to roll the Engineers into a 12-2 run to begin the second half as RPI caught fire from long range, hitting their first three shots from long range. That run opened up a 40-31 lead for the Engineers over the first 4:28 of the second frame.
 
RPI continued to keep their foot on the gas throughout, pulling out to a 23-point lead, 72-49, late in the second half. After going 9-for-25 (36.0%) from the field in the first half, RPI finished 16-for-30 (53.3%) mark from the field in the second – including an 8-for-13 (61.5%) mark from long distance.
 
Eugster led the Engineers with a 19-point effort, hitting a team-high four threes. Angbazo added a 15-point night with seven rebounds, while Dom Black also finished in double-figures with 13 and a team-high eight rebounds and pair of steals. As a team, RPI shared the ball to the tune of 11 assists to Skidmore's three while also winning the paint battle 26-24.
 
Riley Greene and Mark Engel each tossed in 16 points for Skidmore to lead the Thoroughbred offense, with Engel adding eight rebounds to his resume. Greg Skoric fell two points shy of a double-double, scoring eight points and 11 rebounds. Skidmore finished the game 16-for-54 (29.6%) from the field, including 3-for-18 (16.7%) from three-point range.