Box Score CANTON, NY — The RIT men's basketball team (9-7, 3-4 Liberty League) fell to Liberty League leader St. Lawrence (13-2, 6-0 Liberty League), 78-68, on Friday night at the Ronald T. Burkman Gymnasium.
 
Troy Pierre-Louis (Providence, RI/Berkshire School) led all scorers with 17 points, to go with two rebounds and two assists. A.J. Horde was right with him, finishing with 16 points and five assists. Justin Schneider (Aurora, NY/Southern Cayuga) added 12 points and five rebounds, while Robert Aguilera (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas) chipped in with nine points, four rebounds and two blocks.
 
St. Lawrence had four scorers in double-digits, as Riley Naclerio (16), Willie Zachery (15), Dom DeRegis (14), and Ben Crawford (13) all chipped in for the Saints. Naclerio paired his 16 points with 13 rebounds for a double-double, and also added four assists and four blocks. Zachery had six assists as well for St. Lawrence.

"We just couldn't some opportunities when we got within three or four points in the second half, especially when we held them three straight times," said RIT head coach Bob McVean. "We also got beat off the boards and need to be more consistent running our sets to get into the paint."

Both teams battled back and forth to open the game, and the Tigers took a 23-21 lead with 7:53 left in the half — which would be the last lead for RIT. St. Lawrence took a five-point lead into halftime, and didn't give it up for the remainder of the game. RIT would pull within as close as two in the second half, but the Saints, who led for 37:27 of the 40 minutes, held on for the win.
 
St. Lawrence shot 47.6 percent from the field and made 5-of-20 from 3-point range, while RIT shot 43.1 percent and made a similar 5-of-19 shots from beyond the arc. The Saints won the battle on the glass, out-rebounding the Tigers 47-33, including 14-6 on the offensive end.
 
St. Lawrence now leads the all-time series between the two schools, 33-28. The Tigers and Saints will battle one more time during the regular season, on Feb. 4 at Clark Gym.
 
RIT is back in action Saturday, as they travel to take on Clarkson. Tip off is set for 4 p.m. in Potsdam.