ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. – Graduate student Jonny Angbazo hoisted a 17-point, five assist stat line on Friday evening, as the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's basketball team continued their strong stretch run with a 72-51 victory on the road over Bard College. RPI improves to 14-8 overall and 11-4 in Liberty League play, while Bard fell to 12-10 and 7-8 in league play.
 
The Engineers saw Bard get a hot start, as the host jumped out to a quick 14-8 lead less than seven minutes in. However over the next three minutes, RPI found their groove and collected the lead on back-to-back buckets from Yechiel Stewart to take a 19-17 lead with 10:06 remaining in the opening half.
 
Despite Bard holding a slim lead at multiple points down the stretch in the first half, RPI ended the opening frame on an 11-0 run, punctuated by a personal 8-0 run by Angbazo to end the half with an eight point lead, 36-28.
 
RPI ran with the lead from that point, quickly earning their first double-digit lead of the game after quick back-to-back buckets from Andrew Deppe – with the latter on the fast break with 16:28 remaining in regulation. The Engineers locked down on defense, holding Bard to just 7-for-26 (26.9 percent) from the field in the last 20 minutes of play.
 
Ben Eugster also finished in double-digits with 11 points, as he hit a team-high three three-pointers. Avery Eugster led the team on the boards with six rebounds, while as a team the Engineers hit 13 three-pointers.
 
For Bard, Heston Tucker had 13 points while Rowan Heinze added 12 points and a team-high six assists.
 
RPI returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 10 when they head to Poughkeepsie to take on Vassar at 4 p.m.