The RPI men’s basketball team closed out these past two weeks with Liberty League matches and claimed the No. 3 seed in the upcoming conference playoffs to be held this weekend.
Prior to last weekend, the Red Hawks took a devastating 68-64 loss against the Union College Dutchmen at home, followed by wins against the Skidmore Thoroughbreds and the Vassar College Brewers, by scores of 69-63 and 86-74, respectively.
The Red Hawks will be seeded third in the four-team event which takes place February 27 and 28 at the league’s first place team, St. Lawrence University.
On February 13, the Red Hawks hosted the Union Dutchmen. After the first basket by junior Tim Rupp less than a minute into play, the Red Hawks never gave up their advantage in the first half, thanks to sophomore Mike Brion, who scored three of four shots from beyond the arc. The Red Hawks were leading 34-32 entering the second half, but the Dutchmen brought the game to a 38-38 tie in just under three minutes. From there, Union pushed its lead to as much as 10 on two occasions.
The Red Hawks slowly chipped away at the Dutchmen’s advantage, though, as senior Sam Simmons scored six of his 19 second-half points over a span of three minutes to pull his team within three points with almost eight minutes remaining. A few more baskets were made on both sides, ending with the Dutchmen in the lead with just over one minute left in play. Two free throws by Union sealed the victory with less than 10 seconds to go, finishing the game, 68-64.
The following day, the Red Hawks hosted the Skidmore Thoroughbreds at the Armory. The first half of gameplay was dominated by Skidmore, which finished the half in the lead with a score of 25-23. After the Thoroughbreds opened up an eight-point lead less than two minutes into the second half, the Red Hawks cut it to two with baskets by Rupp and Philatre. Skidmore maintained a slight edge until midway through the half.
Down by two with 10 minutes left in competition, the Red Hawks went on a 9-0 run to take a 51-44 lead, which they were able to keep for the remainder of the game, claiming a 69-63 victory. Simmons recorded his second straight double-double with 24 points and 14 rebounds. On February 17, RPI clinched a spot in the Liberty League playoffs with a win over Vassar. Rensselaer, which shot 51.8 percent from the field as a team, held a 47-37 halftime lead thanks in part to a 26-16 run over the final nine minutes of the first half. Simmons had 16 first-half points and Brion scored 10 for the Red Hawks, who made 18 of 30 shots in the opening half. Vassar pulled to within eight points, 53-45, on a three-pointer five minutes into the second half but could not get closer. RPI countered with a 7-2 run and led by double digits for the remainder of the game.
Simmons came within one point of his career-high by making 11 field goals and eight-of-nine free throws, and also had eight rebounds, four steals, three blocked shots, and an assist in 32 minutes of action while scoring a game-high 30 points. In addition to Simmons, Philatre recorded a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds, while Brion finished with 12 points and Rupp with 10 points for RPI.
Last Friday, the Red Hawks traveled to Clarkson University to face the Golden Knights. Rensselaer started off the contest with a layup by Rupp. However, the Knights were eager to claim the lead for their own. Once Simmons picked up his third foul midway through the half, the Knights were able to push their advantage to a 10-point lead with just under five minutes to go in the half.
With less than three minutes to go, a layup gave Clarkson a 16-point advantage. However, the Red Hawks narrowed the lead to 11 points with a 5-0 run to end the half with a score of 37-26. Junior guard Eric Anderson came off the bench to lead Rensselaer with six points, and Simmons added five points in eight minutes of action. In the second half, Rensselaer made a series of runs thanks again to Simmons, but the Knights had an answer from their guards as they took turns in stopping the streaks to keep the Red Hawks at least two possessions out of the lead. As the final buzzer rang, the Red Hawks were down, 69-57. Simmons finished with 22 points, going 9-for-15 from the floor. Anderson had 12 points, shooting four-for-six from the field.
On Saturday, the Red Hawks visited the St. Lawrence University Saints for their final regular season Liberty League match. Despite scoring the first basket, RPI found itself down by six points after St. Lawrence made three straight triples to jump out to an early 9-3 lead. The Red Hawks responded with seven points to gain an advantage, but the Saints quickly regained control of the scoreboard. St. Lawrence used the remainder of the half to earn a double-digit advantage over the Red Hawks as the Saints outscored their opponent 21-13 to end the half with a 10-point lead, 37-27.
The Saints were able to maintain their advantage over the Red Hawks throughout the majority of the second half, until the Red Hawks scored eight consecutive points late in the frame to close within five of the home team, 75-70, with just 51 seconds left in regulation. This was not enough, however, as the Saints closed with a win, 82-75.
Overall, the Red Hawks finished up their dual-game season 13-12 with a record of 7-7 in the Liberty League. During the past week, Simmons had been named the Liberty League’s Forward of the Week. This was the sixth—and fourth consecutive—time this season that Simmons has been honored with this award. He earned this week’s prize after averaging 21.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in the two league games against Union and Skidmore. Through 21 games this season, Simmons leads the Liberty League in scoring and rebounding. He is also third in field goal percentage and fourth in both blocked shots and steals per game. He is fourth in school history in points, with 1,345, and fifth in rebounds.
