Men's Basketball qualifies for Liberty League Tournament with 91-78 win over Bard
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – RIT junior guard Chase Dickens scored 23 points in the Tigers 91-78 win over Bard on Senior Day, Saturday. The Tigers qualify for the 2024 Liberty League Tournament as the fourth seed.
RIT honored senior Matt Caggiano, Mark Osime, Ronnie Toole and Brandon Weiss before today's game.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Caggiano hit a three-pointer with 17:14 remaining in the first half to give RIT a 12-8 lead.
- Bard's Azriel Almodovar gave the Raptors a 17-16 lead on his layup with 14:34 to play in the half.
- Dickens capped off a 13-0 RIT run with a three-pointer with 11:23 to play in the opening half to extend the Tiger's lead to 29-17.
- Lazaro Panagiotounis cut the RIT lead to 33-26 with his three-pointer with 9:45 remaining, while junior guard Brock Bowen hit a three-pointer on the Tiger's next possession to make it a 10-point RIT lead.
- Panagiotounis hit a three-pointer to cut the RIT lead to 40-36, while Sean Wilcox made it a two-point game with his bucket with 3:56 to play.
- Junior forward Josiah Turner scored with 17 seconds to play in the half to extend the Tiger's lead to 50-39 at the break.
- Dickens scored early in the second half to give RIT its largest lead of the game at 56-39.
- Harris Elliot scored with 11:17 remaining to cut the RIT lead to 68-57.
- Junior forward Jackson Otis ballooned the RIT lead to 77-62 with his bucket, while senior forward Kenny Wilburn gave the Tigers an 83-66 lead on his basket with 5:13 remaining.
- Caggiano made a pair of free throws in the closing seconds to make it a 91-78 final.
GAME NOTES
- RIT shot 32-of-58 (55.2%) from the floor, including 13 three pointers.
- Each team had 33 rebounds.
- Caggiano and Bowen each scored 16 points, while Turner finished with nine points and seven rebounds.
- RIT qualifies for the Liberty League Tournament for the first time since the 2017-18 season.
WHAT'S NEXT
RIT returns to action on Tuesday (Feb. 20) against No. 5 Union in the Liberty League Quarterfinals at 7:00 p.m.
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