Vassar College Athletics

Poughkeepsie, NY - Four different Brewers tallied double-digit points as the Vassar College Men's Basketball team earned its fourth home victory of the season in a 89-77 victory over conference rival Bard on Saturday afternoon. Vassar's record improves to 11-6 overall and 7-3 in Liberty League play while the Raptors drop to 9-8 overall and 4-6 in conference action.

First Half

• Neither team could seperate from each other in the opening eight minutes as a three-pointer from senior Luke Adams put Vassar ahead 13-10.
• Sean Wilcox knocked down two free throws to get Bard within one before the Brewers went on a 12-2 run as senior Devyn Benson's bucket pushed VC ahead 25-14 at the 7:12 mark.
• Vassar's lead increased to 14 after a three-point play from sophomore Shea Fitzgerald with 5:02 remaining before Bard would get within 10 on a lay-in from Azriel Almodovar with a minute left.
• The Brewers would hold a 45-34 lead at the halftime break following a made free throw from junior Sacha Greenberg.
• Vassar shot an efficient 45.7-percent from the field while converting 5-for-15 from three-point range and 8-for-12 from the free throw line in the opening 20 minutes.
• The Raptors were held to 36.7-percent overall in the first half while going just 2-for-14 from three and converting 10-for-14 from the free throw stripe.

Second Half

• Bard cut the lead down to five at the 16:33 mark following a layup from Rowan Heinze until a three-point play from sophomore Avery Lee pushed the lead to 52-44 with 15:17 remaining.
• A quick six point run from the Raptors trimmed the lead down to two on a Almodovar lay-in before Adams' triple at the 11:51 mark gave the Brewers some breathing room at 63-56.
• Wilcox knocked down a three-pointer to put Bard within four with 8:38 remaining before VC went on a 16-4 run over the next four minutes to earn its biggest lead of the game at 82-66.
• Greenberg tallied seven of the 16 in the run along with Fitzgerald adding four and Adams knocking down a three.
• The closest that Bard could get in the final four minutes was 87-77 following two free throws from Lazaros Panagiotounis with 35 seconds remaining.
• VC finished the second half shooting 43.8-percent overall while going 5-for-13 from three-point distance and 11-for-15 from the free throw line.
• Bard closed the second half at 45.2-percent from the field and going 2-for-5 from three and 14-for-19 from the free throw stripe.

For The Brewers

• Lee scored a team-high 20 points to go along with three assists while Fitzgerald tallied 15 points, seven rebounds and three steals.
• Greenberg supplied 13 points and six rebounds off the bench along with Adams adding 12 points, two assists and two steals off the bench.
• Junior Nathan Denham recorded four points, four assists and four rebounds while sophomore Kreekor Karageuzian chipped in six points.

For The Raptors

• Heinze poured in a game-high 28 points on 10-for-16 shooting and added six rebounds.
• Wilcox finished with a double-double of 20 points and 14 rebounds while Almodovar added 15 points, six rebounds and four assists.
• Panagiotounis added 11 points, four rebounds and two assists for the Raptors.

Game Statistics

• Vassar shot 44.8-percent overall for the game while connecting on 10-for-28 from three and 19-for-27 from the free throw line.
• Bard finished shooting 41-percent from the field but were held to just 3-for-19 from three-point territory. The Raptors held the edge at the free throw line shooting 24-for-33.
• Points off turnovers were even at 13 apiece while the Raptors held a strong edge in points in the paint at 44-26.

Up Next

• Vassar closes its seven game homestand against Clarkson and St. Lawrence beginning on Friday.
• Bard will also host the North Country schools beginning on Friday.