Feb. 6: The St. Lawrence University men's basketball team faced an eight-point halftime deficit on Friday evening against Bard College in the Burkman Gymnasium.  With their season on the line, the Saints came through with a clutch second half performance and earned a 77-73 win to keep pace in the conference playoff picture.

St. Lawrence improved to 12-9 overall and 6-6 in the league, while Bard falls to 9-11 (4-7).  Captain Brady Condlin scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half and was 10-for-10 at the free throw line, while Kyle Edwards matched that total and chipped in four assists.  Kaleb Faison (17 points, 6 rebounds) and Kyle Kobis (11 Points) also reached double-figures for the Scarlet and Brown.  The Raptors, who saw a nine point lead slip away in the second half as they battled foul trouble, were led by Alex Fabean-Scotch and Brandon Cunningham, who recorded 23 and 21 points, respectively.

Bard was very efficient on the offensive end, shooting 56% from the floor and 45% from behind the arc.  However, the visitors gave up 21 points at the free throw line due to 23 personal fouls and committed 14 turnovers to St. Lawrence's three.  The Saints shot 44% from the floor, had a 10-2 advantage in steals and picked up the crucial win despite being outrebounded 35-25.

The Raptors jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first half as the Saints didn't crack the score board until nearly 5:00 minutes into the period.  Edwards delivered several key buckets, including a fall-away three midway through the period to get the home team back within three at 18-15.  Though St. Lawrence held a brief 29-28 lead with 3:34 to play in the half, Bard closed the period in a 14-5 run thanks to late baskets by Fabean-Scotch and Cunningham for a 42-34 advantage.

St. Lawrence chipped away at its deficit throughout the early portion of the second half at the free throw line, and Faison capped a 17-7 run with a three pointer to give his team the lead back at 51-49 with 11:12 to play.  Fabean-Scotch did all he could for Bard, as he hit clutch three after clutch three including one with 2:58 left in regulation to give his team a 67-65 lead.  Faison would answer, though, with a three of his own and Kobis added a lay-in to swing the momentum back in St. Lawrence's favor, up 72-69 with 1:26 to go.

The Saints' free throw shooting was outstanding down the stretch, as they finished the second half 18-of-23 (78%) including 7-for-8 in the final 4:49.  Bard had a three point try to tie it in the final seconds, but Emmanuel Rainey's open look hit off the rim and missed, as Faison iced the win with a free throw with 1.8 seconds left for the 77-73 victory.

St. Lawrence finished with a 17-1 advantage in points off turnovers, and will look to earn its fourth straight victory tomorrow when it hosts Vassar at 4:00pm.