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TROY, N.Y. - Junior guard Jeff Altimar made five three pointers and finished with 25 points to lead the Skidmore men's basketball team to a 74-65 victory over Rensselaer in Liberty League action at the East Campus Arena. The Thoroughbreds remain in first place with a 5-2 league mark (12-6 overall), while the Engineers are now 3-4 and 11-6.
Skidmore opened the game by scoring the first seven points and 14 of the first 20. Altimar (Medfield, MA/Medfield) had nine of them, including a pair of baskets from behind the arc. RPI came back to score the next seven points, including a three-pointer by senior
Eric Anderson (Merrimack, NH/Merrimack), who would finish with 20 points, to trail 14-13 at the 11:11 mark.
Skidmore countered with a 16-1 run for a 30-14 lead with just under six minutes left in the opening half. The visitors pushed their advantage to 19 points on two separate occasions before the half expired.
The second half featured solid runs by RPI, who cut the deficit to eight points with 7:41left, but the Thoroughbreds made three straight three-pointers - two by Altimar - for a 17-point lead, 60-43. Rensselaer again fought back, this time to get within six points (64-58) with 2:12 remaining, but Altimar answered with a three-pointer at 1:47. Skidmore made its free throws down the stretch for the final margin.
Altimar finished the game by making 8 of 13 shots from the field with five rebounds and two steals. Senior Jon Douglas (Amherst, MA/Amherst Regional) also reached double-digits in points for the Thoroughbreds, finishing with 14.
In addition to his 20 points, Anderson had two assists, two steals and a rebound for RPI. Junior
Jeremy Bull (Woodbridge, VA/St. Stephens & St. Agnes School) added 16 points and seven rebounds, while freshman
Daniel Martin (Cohasset, MA/Cohasset) had a game-high six blocks. He also scored four poitns and pulled down four rebounds.
RPI is idle until Friday when they host Clarkson at 8pm. Skidmore is back on the court on Tuesday at 8pm against Union in Saratoga Springs.
