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ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT (11-9, 6-4 Liberty League) men's basketball team snapped a three-game losing streak with a 72-69 win over Rensselaer (6-14, 3-8 Liberty League) on Friday evening. With the win, RIT remains in fourth place in the Liberty League standings and is 36-26 all time versus the Engineers.

RIT shot 41.0 percent from the floor on 25-of-61 shooting. The Tigers made 9-of-25 from behind the arc, and went 13-of-16 from the foul line. AJ Horde led RIT with 21 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals. Joe Stortini added 15 points, while JP Reagan and Miguel Lopez each scored 11.

Sophomore guard Nate Kane and junior forward Brian Hatcher led Rensselaer with 19 points apiece. Chase Almond added 11 points, while Almond and Hatcher each grabbed 10 rebounds for the Engineers, who shot 40.4% from the floor (23-of-57).

RIT led by as many as 14 points in the first half, and held a 39-33 advantage at the break. Rensselaer responded, cutting the Tigers lead to 30-28 with 4:04 to play in the first half on an old fashioned 3-point play from Hatcher. Senior Josh Dugas gave the Engineers their first lead with a layup with 2:32 to play in the half. RIT outscored Rensselaer 9-2 over the final 3:22 for the 6-point halftime lead.

RIT shot 43.3 percent from the floor in the opening half on 13-of-30 shooting. Horde scored 14 of his game-high 21 points in the first half, while Reagan added 11.

Rensselaer took a 7-point lead midway through the second half on a free throw from junior forward Tyler Gendron. That capped off a 12-2 run by the Engineers. Rensselaer maintained its lead until the 4:46 mark of regulation when Stortini converted an old fashioned 3-point play. Another Stortini bucket on RIT's next possession extended the Tiger's lead to 68-65.

Horde made both free throws with 15 seconds to play, giving the Tigers a 72-69 lead. Josh Dugas had a chance from three, but his shot was off the mark. After a Nate Kane offensive rebound, Dugas had another shot at the buzzer, but it was also off the mark and RIT held on for the 3-point win.
 
Rensselaer held a 40-35 rebounding advantage. Both teams took care of the ball as RIT turned the ball over 10 times to 13 for the Engineers. The Tigers scored 18 points off of RPI turnovers and tallied 26 points in the paint.