Box Score

TROY, N.Y. – The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's basketball team forced 29 turnovers, which turned into 30 points in defeating Bard College, 80-56, this evening Liberty League action from East Campus Arena. With the win, the Engineers improve to 9-6 overall (4-2 Liberty), while the Raptors drop to 4-11 (1-7 Liberty).

RPI senior captain Daniel Martin (Cohasset, MA/Cohasset) scored the game's first six points – in the first 1:14 – setting the tone for a fast-paced opening stanza. Despite shooting just 36.4% from the floor in the first 20 minutes, the Engineers limited the Raptors to just 26.1%, leading to a 32-14 advantage for the hosts at the break.

The Engineers' reserved picked things up in the second half, scoring 36 of RPI's 48 points in the frame. A quick three-pointer from freshman Tyler Gendron (Merrimack, NH/Merrimack) to start the second half gave the hosts a 37-16 lead.

Rensselaer senior captain Brendan Farley (Burlington, MA/Burlington) then hit a triple of his own to expand the lead to 42-16, less than three minutes into the half. Sophomore Jarrett Boeglin (Lexington, MA/Lexington) pushed the lead to 34 points (55-21) with 13:01 left in the game.

Bard started to chip away at the deficit as the game neared the midway point of the second half, when junior Ben Kane (Rockville, MD/Rockville) drilled a three-pointer to pull within 28 (56-28). Senior Jeremy Arnstein (Washington, DC/Georgetown Day) made it two in a row from distance to make it a 25-point game.

Two more triples from Kane and junior Lamar Powell (West Orange, NJ/West Orange), with 5:31 to play, brought the visitors to within 68-47. That was as close as the Raptors would get, however, as the Engineers started hitting from outside the arc as well.

Senior Chris Almodovar (El Paso, TX/Immanuel Christian School) poured in a team-best 12 points, for the Engineers, on 4 of 4 shooting from three-point range. Martin recorded 10 points, six rebounds, two blocks and a steal, while classmate Jamie Zajac (Merrimack, NH/Bishop Guertin) added six points, with four assists and two steals.

Leading Bard was sophomore Chris McNaughton (State College, PA/Solebury Prep), who scored a game-high 15 points. Powell had 13 points, three rebounds and a game-high seven assists.

The Engineers are back in action on Friday night, when they visit Skidmore College (8pm). RPI then hosts St. Lawrence on Saturday (4pm).