ROCHESTER, NY -- The RIT (11-8, 5-5 Liberty League) men's basketball team rallied to defeat Bard College (2-15, 0-8 Liberty League) 64-59 on Friday evening. With the win, RIT moved into fifth place in the Liberty League standings and is within striking distance of a postseason berth.

"Bard played a physical style that limited us in what we could do," said RIT head coach Bob McVean. "They are a better team their record suggests. I have a lot of respect for how they keep playing and working hard."

RIT shot 48.8 percent from the floor on 20-of-41 shooting. The Tigers made just 5-of-22 from behind the arc, but were 19-of-22 from the foul line. Troy Pierre-Louis (Providence, RI/Berkshire School) led RIT with a career-high 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Justin Schneider (Aurora, NY/Southern Cayuga) added 14 points, going 5-of-5 from the floor and 4-for-4 from the foul line. Robert Aguilera (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas) and Kevin Drain (Baldwinsville, NY/C.W. Baker) each scored seven points, while Aguilera grabbed six rebounds and had two blocks, five assists and two steals. AJ Horde (Oak Park, MI/University of Detroit Jesuit) had seven rebounds and seven assists.

Chris Lockwood led Bard with 23 points, while Harry Johnson added 12 points for the Raptors who shot 39.3 percent from the floor.

RIT trailed 9-2 early in the first half as Bard came out firing. Lockwood's 3-pointer less than four minutes into the game gave the Raptors a seven-point edge. The Tigers answered with a 7-2 run of their own, tying the score at 11-11 on a 3-pointer from Pierre-Louis at the 14:07 mark of the half.

Bard kept hold of the lead until the 5:35 mark when Drain scored off an assist from Horde to give the Tigers a 26-25 lead. A Schneider dunk with 3:04 to play gave RIT its largest lead of the game at 31-27. The Raptors would not go away, scoring the final five points of the half to lead 32-31 at the break.

RIT outscored Bard 8-1 to start the second half, taking a 39-33 lead on a a pair of Schneider free throws. Christopher Rogers cut the RIT lead back to 39-37 with his layup with just under 14 minutes to play. A pair of Anthony Lewis (Rochester, NY/Churchville-Chili) free throws with 9:30 to play gave RIT is largest lead of the game at 50-40.

Bard would answer with a mini 7-0 run, cutting the RIT lead to 50-47 on layup by Rogers with 7:32 to play. Two more Schneider free throws with 5:08 to play in regulation increased the RIT lead to 54-48. A Pierre-Louis 3-pointer with 2:48 to play increased the RIT lead to 59-50. He sealed the win with a pair of free throws with 14 seconds to play to make it 64-56.

The Tigers held a 35-27 rebounding edge, tallying seven second-chance points. RIT tallied 28 points in the paint, and tallied 21 points off of 20 Bard turnovers.

"Tonight was an important win for us," said McVean. "Every game from here to the end is big. We have to learn from tonight and go for a win tomorrow."

RIT returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 28 when the Tigers host Vassar College at 4 p.m. The Tigers will retire Athletics Hall of Fame member Craig Jones' No. 33 jersey tomorrow before the game.