Liberty League Website

TROY, N.Y. - The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's basketball team will attempt to extend its winning streak to eight games when it plays at Union College in the Liberty League Semifinals on Wednesday at 7pm. The Engineers, who are 16-9 overall and 11-5 in the league, are the third seed. The Dutchmen are 20-5 and 12-4 and the second seed.

Among Rensselaer's wins in its last seven games is a 67-65 win over its area rival on Friday night in Troy. In that game, RPI senior guard Jamie Zajac (Merrimack, NH / Bishop Guertin) made two free throws with 3.9 seconds remaining in the game to break a tie and Rensselaer kept Union from getting a shot off before the final horn sounded. Zajac finished with a team high 18 points and freshman Tyler Gendron (Merrimack, NH / Merrimack) scored 12 for the Engineers. Senior Keven Donohue (Hudson Falls, NY / Hudson Falls) had 29 points for the visitors.

Donohue scored 27 points in the first meeting between RPI and the Dutchmen, a 90-72 Union victory on January 12 at the Vinier Center in Schenectady. The Engineers were led by Zajac's 14 points, while classmate Brendan Farley (Burlington, MA / Burlington) scored 10 points.

Farley, a forward, leads Rensselaer in scoring, averaging 14.0 points per game. He also averages 4.7 rebounds with 33 assists and 22 steals. Zajac is second on the team in scoring (11.8 points per game) and first in assists (79) and steals (37). Senior center Daniel Martin (Cohasset, MA / Cohasset) is RPI's top rebounder, averaging 6.7 per contest. He also has a team-best 65 blocks. Martin, Zajac and Farley are the team captains.

The winner of RPI and Union plays in the Liberty League Championship Game on Saturday against either top-seeded Hobart College (19-6; 15-1) or fourth-seeded Skidmore College (15-10; 9-7) on Saturday afternoon. The top remaining seed hosts the finals. Rensselaer head coach Mike Griffin's Engineers were 0-2 against Hobart and 1-1 versus Skidmore in the regular season.