Four.
That was the number of points the Rensselaer men’s basketball team needed to even the score with rival Union Friday night in a crucial conference game in Schenectady.
Four Red Hawk free throws could have tied the score; that is, if RPI would have gotten any chances.
In another classic, physical struggle between the two bitter cross-town foes, the officials did not award RPI any trips to the charity stripe in the second half. The Red Hawks took just six freebies all game compared to the 29 free throws attempted by the home team.
“I can’t think of any times when we deserved it,” Rensselaer Head Coach Mike Griffin said with regard to his team’s failure to reach the free-throw line. “They outplayed us and we did not challenge them inside.”
Surprisingly, both Union and Rensselaer played Friday with alternative personas. The Red Hawks, the worst three-point shooting team in the league, matched Union, the league’s best long-range shooting squad, from beyond the arc and shot the ball over 50 percent. Meanwhile, the Dutchmen out-rebounded RPI and dominated inside.
Union’s perfect execution in their zone defense was partially responsible for the switch. The Dutchmen packed the lane so tight that feeding the ball down low was next to impossible, forcing Rensselaer to settle for jump shots.
Senior forward Tom Schneider led the Red Hawks in scoring, but could only muster 14 points against the Dutchmen zone. Classmate Matt Zepernick was the only other RPI player in double digits, with 11.
While RPI nailed their jumpers, Union’s Brian Scordato dominated in the paint. The senior forward posted a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds, three of which came off the offensive glass.
Scordato’s biggest board came with just 30 seconds remaining when the burly forward split two RPI defenders on the block, grabbing the loose ball after Chris Murphy missed the front end of a one-and-one. He then made one of two shots from the line to push the Union lead to six.
“Those are the kind of things you can’t have happen if you want to win on the road,” Griffin said.
Scordato’s performance down low opened up shooting lanes for senior guard John Cagianello, who finished with a game-high 19 points. Despite his performance, Griffin felt the combination of seniors guards David Easily and Joe Johnson held Cagianello, who is closing in on 2000 career points, in check.
“They did a really good job with him,” Griffin said. “Guys like [Cagianello] just find ways to score.”
The two teams, which are knotted in a three-way tie for third place in the Liberty League standings with Hobart, combine to boast 12 seniors, all of which could be playing their final career game when the two teams meet again in their season finales on February 18.
“Both teams have so many seniors and all these guys realize their careers are coming to an end,” Griffin said. “When ever we face off there is always a ton of emotion on display from beginning to end.”
After expending a great deal of mental and physical energy in the Union game, RPI traveled to face a Thoroughbred squad which is merely trying to limp across the finish line.
Griffin admitted that he feared his team would suffer a letdown against a much weaker Skidmore squad, but his concerns were quickly quieted when RPI cruised to a 65-47 win.
RPI jumped out to a 27-4 lead to start the contest and Skidmore could not score its fourth point until six minutes into the ball game. Schneider tallied another double-double with 16 points and 15 rebounds en route to earning his third Liberty League Forward of the Week award. With 944 career points, the Nashua, N.H., native now stands within striking distance of the 1000-point plateau. Senior Russell Herman added 10 points for the Red Hawks.
“The game was never in doubt,” Griffin said. “You measure teams by what they can do Saturday. You get past Friday and survive Saturday. We did that this weekend.”
Rensselaer did not escape the Skidmore game unharmed. Early in the first half, RPI sophomore forward Sam Simmons and Skidmore’s Jonah Haviland-Markowitz exchanged punches after getting tangled up underneath the basket.
The brief fight, which was quickly broken up, was the climax of several minutes of jawing and thrown elbows between the two forwards. Simmons, who threw the first punch, left Haviland-Markowitz bloodied, but also earned the two players a quick trip to the locker room and a one-game suspension.
Rensselaer got along fine without Simmons against the Thoroughbreds, but his absence this Friday when the Red Hawks take on St. Lawrence in Canton, N.Y., could be costly.
With Simmons unavailable, the pressure to dominate the paint and contain Saints’ freshman star Bela Vonnak, who scored 23 points and grabbed 15 boards in the two teams’ January 21 meeting, falls heavily on Herman.
“Our bench is not as long as it typically is,” Griffin said with Simmons being out. “Russell will need to step up and stay out of foul trouble.”
RPI is hoping to avenge a 73-68 home loss to St. Lawrence in which Rensselaer managed to blow a 16-point first half lead.
“Everyone is fired up,” Griffin said. “We certainly think we are as good as they are and we have a chance to knock off a first place team.”
The Saints, who are tied for first place in the league with Hamilton with a 6-1 record, gave RPI a load of trouble with a pressure man-to-man defense. The Red Hawks have been preparing for the pressure this week in practice, and will plan to play more zone to help neutralize Vonnak inside.
RPI will also take on Clarkson Saturday afternoon in Potsdam, N.Y., in the team’s last weekend road trip of the season.
