ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. - The list of things that had to go right for Bard to beat Skidmore in men's basketball on Friday night was so long, it might to best to consolidate it for the sake of brevity.

Bard was going to have to do things well that it hadn't done well all season.

Defend for a full 40 minutes.
Make big foul shots under pressure.
Believe.

It all happened, and the last place team in the Liberty League beat the first place team in the Liberty League, 70-61.

Bard (3-17 overall, 1-10 Liberty League) took its first lead, 5-3, and incredibly never gave it back. From the start, Skidmore seemed unsettled on offense, and at least part of that can be attributed to Bard's aggressive defense.

Early on, the Raptors gave Skidmore very few good looks at the basket. But even when Skidmore did start to get good looks, they didn't go in. The Thoroughbreds shot just 25 percent from the floor in the first half - including a mind-blowing 1-for-15 from beyond the arc - and Bard led, 32-24, at halftime. Skidmore entered the game as the best three-point shooting team in the league.

And keep in mind, Skidmore clobbered Bard, 82-54, 13 days ago in Saratoga. So the elephant in the room at halftime was the impending Skidmore comeback. Nobody said a word, but the crowd in attendance would best be described as nervous when the second half began.

Christopher Rogers layup, Bard is up 10. Chris Lockwood three-pointer, Bard is up 13. Ezekiel Damasio layup, Bard is up 15. Armando Dunn scores inside, and Bard has scored the first nine points of the second half to go up 41-24. Skidmore missed its first four shots of the second half and the elephant has left the building.

Skidmore (14-6, 9-2) started chipping away at the lead, but it was taking forever. The deficit was 13 with 13 minutes left, 11 with 10 minutes left, and 49-41 with 7:44 to go. But Bard held them off, never allowing them closer than eight, thanks to a stretch of eight consecutive made free throws in the final couple of minutes.

In the end, Skidmore went 4-for-30 from beyond the arc. Bard enjoyed a 46-38 rebounding advantage, including 16 offensive boards, and the Thoroughbreds turned it over an uncharacteristic 20 times.

Aldin Medunjanin (New York, NY) led Skidmore with 18 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Edvinus Rupkus (Naujoji Akmene, Lithuania) had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Jack Byrne (Hazlet, NJ) finished with 11 points.

Bard got 17 points and four steals from senior Harry Johnson, 13 points and four rebounds from freshman Christopher Rogers, and 11 points from senior Chris Lockwood. Armando Dunn added eight points and 10 rebounds.

Next up for Bard is another playoff hopeful, Union - which beat Bard, 83-56, two weeks ago. Let's see what happens on Saturday at 4.