The ACPHS Panthers lost a hard fought battle to the Bard College Raptors, by a score of 47-52 on Thursday night. Freshman Ryan McVaigh led the Panthers with 15 points and 14 rebounds. 

The Panthers faced the Raptors in 2011, when they lost 57-87. It was clear Thursday night that the Panthers were not going down so easily this year. McVaigh started the scoring for the Panthers off a jumpshot and the Raptors were quick to answer, evening the score. Four and a half minutes into the game, Junior, Casey Redfern dropped a three-pointer, quickly followed by McVaigh with one of his own, to give the Panthers a 10-4 lead. Freshman, Steven Brown joined in and downed two quick jumpshots to increase the Panthers lead to 14-4.

The Raptors fought back and scored a slew of three pointers to even the score and help them gain the momentum they needed to take the lead. The Raptors were able to hang onto the lead and went into the half up 26-23.

The second half was very evenly matched with both teams fighting for the lead. With six minutes remaining in the game, Redfern, who was 4-4 from the foul line, sank both of his free throws to tie the game at 43. The Raptors answered back and gained a five point lead that the Panthers proved unable to recover from.

The Freshman class excelled in this game, with McVaigh leading the team in points and rebounds, while Brown earned 12 points and 11 rebounds. Redfern also contributed 12 points in the Panthers effort.

The Panthers will face off against the St. Louis College of Pharmacy at home on Saturday, November 17th at 2pm.