Posted by Evan Owen
This past weekend, Skidmore College hosted Clarkson College in both men's and women's basketball for their final home games of the season. The event itself, known as the Big Green Scream, drew a huge crowd that came for the games and various prizes like shirts, water bottles and (most importantly) a 32-inch flat screen television.
The lady Thoroughbreds, coming into the game with a record of 11-12, played the first game of the day. Before the game, they held a ceremony for the squad's three graduating seniors, Christine Kemp, Cyrida Felton and Ismatu Alison, all of who will be missed on the floor.
The Thoroughbreds and the Clarkson College Golden Knights began the game relatively even. Skidmore attacked with hard cuts inside combined with good rebounding and put back shots, while Clarkson shot almost all of their shots from the perimeter. After trailing by two points at the half, the Thoroughbreds kicked into high gear in the second half, limiting Clarkson to only 12 points in the entire second half. In the end, the whole team contributed to a strong 55-41 win, bringing their overall record to an even 12-12 and their liberty league record to 8-6.
The men's team experienced the same success on Sunday, also playing Clarkson College and winning by a commanding 20 points. The game marked the last home game for the team's lone senior, Jeff Altimar, who has consistently performed well at Skidmore College for all four years.
The game started off a bit rocky for the Thoroughbreds when they fell behind Clarkson early on by as many as 10 points. However, in the middle of the first half, spectacular outside shooting by juniors Gerard O'Shea and Brian Lowry contributed to a 23-9 point run, allowing Skidmore to end the first half with an impressive 17 point lead. From that point on, there was no doubt that the Thoroughbreds would emerge victorious. Strong performances by Langyintuo and Altimar contributed to the overwhelming victory with 12 and 9 points, respectively. The final score was 83-63, and the win secured Skidmore's third seed spot in the Liberty League tournament next week at Hobart College in Geneva, NY.
The Big Green Scream was both entertaining for the students of Skidmore College, with games and prizes, and successful for both basketball teams, each recording victories in their final home games.