Aidan Macaulay scored 19 of his career-high 26 points in the first half and the St. Lawrence University men's basketball team rode 49 first-half points to beat the Bard Raptors 77-65 in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y.

The Saints now own a 12-5 overall record and with the win have vaulted into a tie for fourth place in the Liberty League with a 6-5 mark. It is their first time this season above .500 in the conference and they are now on a three-game win streak, with all three wins coming on the road. 

Both teams came out hot from the field, as there were a combined 29 points in the first five minutes with the Saints leading 15-14. However, the Raptors then went cold, and the Scarlet and Brown took advantage. They embarked on a 7-0 run with five of these points coming from Aidan Macaulay.

The Scarlet and Brown had another 7-0 run a little later capped off by another three from Aidan Macaulay, giving the senior from Lowville, N.Y. his 16th point less than 14 minutes into the game and putting the Saints up 37-19.

Bard got the game to 39-30 but with under two minutes left in the first half, the Saints took all the momentum back with a 10-0 run with five points from Adam Dudzinski in this final stretch of the half. The Saints commanded a 49-30 lead, making 10 threes and 19 points coming from Aidan Macaulay off of 5-for-5 shooting from beyond the arc. 

The St. Lawrence defense kept the Raptors from getting back into the game in the final half. Even though the Bard outscored St. Lawrence 12-6 to open the second half, the Saints responded and got their lead up to 64-47 with 7:34 remaining.

After this, the Raptors used a 9-1 run over the next four minutes to get the game to 66-56 with three minutes remaining, the closest they had been in the second half. However, Dudzinski and Aidan Macaulay scored on the next two possessions to seal the game.

Dudzinski was in double figures with 15 points and contributed five rebounds. Dan Anderson had 11 points and five rebounds and both Gavin Macaulay and Trey Syroka each had three assists. The Saints had 12 steals, forced 21 turnovers, and outscored the Raptors 20-7 on points off turnovers. 

The Saints will have a key matchup against the Vassar Brewers tomorrow at 4 p.m. in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Vassar (12-6, 8-3) has a two-game lead over St. Lawrence in the standings although the Saints got the best of them in Burkman with a 80-55 win a few weeks back.