SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Sophomore Matthew Garside hit a three-pointer as time expired to finish off an 18-point night and lift the Union College men's basketball team to a thrilling 60-59 victory over St. Lawrence University in a crucial Liberty League battle on Friday night at Viniar Athletic Center.
In a back-and-forth game that featured 12 lead changes and 11 ties, it came down the final seconds to determine a winner. The home team missed a chance to take the lead with 10 seconds left and fouled Adam Dudzinski, who made the first of two free throws to put the Saints up 59-57. But he missed the second and sophomore Brendan Reid came up with a tough rebound to give the Garnet Chargers one last chance.
After a timeout, Garside got the ball at the defensive free-throw line and dribbled down the court before stopping at the three-point arc, pump-faking a defender, and draining a three as the clock expired to give Union (7-7, 3-4 Liberty League) the crucial conference win.
Garside led all scorers with his 18 points, sinking 6-of-9 shots from downtown. Junior Christian Dufort chipped in 12 points and added nine boards, four assists and two blocks to his ledger. Sophomore Jack Plesser registered 10 points and classmate Tanner Tedesco recorded eight points and seven assists for the home team as well.
Dudzinski scored a team-leading 16 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds for for St. Lawrence (9-4, 3-4 Liberty League) in a losing effort.
Garside's winner was a fitting cap to a game that saw neither side lead by more than six points for the entirety of the contest. Union's largest lead of the game was four points on three occasions, twice in the first half and then again early in the second after a layup by Plesser put the home team up 34-30 with 18:27 remaining. The Saints followed that basket with seven straight points to take back the lead less than 90 seconds later, and Union could not get back on top until a Tedesco triple made the score 57-56 with 2:35 left.
However, SLU went back up by a point on the next possession and Union could not convert on its next three possessions. Despite that, some solid defense on the other end limited SLU's chances and eventually set the stage for the thrilling finish.
Union finished the night shooting 39.6 percent (21 of 53) from the field, and made a difference with a stellar 45.5 percent (10 of 22) effort from beyond the arc. St. Lawrence finished the game at 40.4 percent (23 of 57) from the field, but connected on only 3-of-17 attempts (17.6 percent) from long range.
Union will look to keep the momentum going tomorrow with Alumni Day before a 5 p.m. matchup against Clarkson University at Viniar Athletic Center.