The frontcourt duo of Andrew Cowan and Adam Dudzinski combined for 30 points, but the St. Lawrence men's basketball team fell 61-56 to the RIT Tigers Friday night in Burkman Gymnasium. 

The Saints fall to 12-7 overall. Their 6-7 mark in the Liberty League puts St. Lawrence right on the cut line for the Liberty League playoffs as they are now tied for sixth with Clarkson. 

After a back-and-forth first five minutes to start the game, RIT got up 12-8 after a made three to take the first multi-possession lead. The rest of the half was nearly even with both teams looking strong on the defensive end.

However, the Tigers connected on seven of their 13 three-point tries in the half, taking as much as a 33-24 lead with 1:36 left. Cowan had a tip in at the buzzer to bring the Tigers lead to 33-26 at half time. 

The Tigers had a strong opening to the second half, going up 40-30 with 17:27 remaining. After this, the Saints had a slim 6-0 run with Dudzniski and Cowan each getting three points to cut the lead down to four. However, RIT responded with an 8-0 run to take their largest lead of the game 48-36 with 13 minutes to go.

The Scarlet and Brown then took over for a time, scoring the next thirteen points of the game over the following four minutes. Dudzinski had six points, Chris Downs Jr. had a couple buckets, and a layup by Andrew Cowan gave the Saints their first lead since it was 7-6. The score was in favor of the home team 49-48 with nine minutes remaining.



After a few minutes of see-saw action between the two teams, the Tigers used their stingy defense to hold St. Lawrence in check. RIT got a 55-52 lead with 5:46 remaining and despite Dan Anderson's jumper on the following possession, the Saints were held to just two points the remainder of the game. RIT took a 59-54 lead with 2:37 left and went on to win by that same margin.
 
Dudzinski led the way with 17 points, 13 rebounds, and four assists. Andrew Cowan had 13 points and seven rebounds. Anderson and Trey Syroka both had five assists on the night. 

The Saints now have a big game in the second half of their weekend double-header against the Hobart Statesmen tomorrow afternoon with tip set for 4 p.m.