Box Score

CANTON, N.Y. -- Four players reached double-digits in scoring to lead St. Lawrence to a 71-65 win over Rensselaer in Liberty League action this afternoon. Behind sophomore guard Tom Wopperer’s 16 points and seven of 12 shooting performance, the Saints shot 42 percent from the field.

St. Lawrence’s up-tempo play and consistent outside shooting was enough to hold off the Red Hawks, who engineered a second half run to make the game tight.

The Saints took a 35-30 lead into halftime, but RPI took the momentum. The Saints, who led by as much as 35-20 with 2:42 remaining in the first half, surrendered 10 unanswered points to close out the half. The trend continued early in the second period as the Red Hawks opened with a three points shot by guard Devin Galvin.

The Saints responded with an 11-2 run to earn a 46-35 cushion with 15:13 left. The Saints continued to own the lead, possessing a 63-53 advantage with just 4:46 left in the game. RPI however, hit four unanswered shots, including a three pointser by Clay Hadley to tighten the Saints margin to 63-62 with just over a minute to play.

Trailing by one point, the Saints got the ball back with a chance to move their lead to three. Freshman guard Josh Sharlow, who was the Saints second leading scorer with 14 points, drove the lane with the shot clock winding down and dished to sophomore forward Bela Vonnak for a smooth lay-in to put the Saints up 65-62. Rensselaer missed a shot on their next possession and were forced to foul down the stretch. The Saints hit all six of their free throws to close out the game at 71-65.

Behind Wopperer’s 16 points, Sharlow posted 14, senior guard Matt Blue had 11 and Vonnak scored 10 points. More impressively however, was Ben Augliano’s performance on the glass. The sophomore forward dominated the glass pulling down a game-high 15 boards.

RPI senior Neal Wesson tallied a team-high 14 points while junior Sam Simmons and senior Michael Visker each added 13 points.  Simmons also added a team-high seven rebounds in the loss.

The win moves the Saints to 13-3 on the season and 3-2 in the conference. Rensselaer is now 9-7 overall and 2-3 in the Liberty League.  SLU is back in action next Friday hosting Skidmore at 8 p.m. in Burkman Gymnasium. RPI also returns to the court on Friday with Hamilton visiting Robison Gym (8pm).