Box Score

ONEONTA, NY (January 29, 2008) -- After a slugglish first half in which Hartwick College controlled a 32-21 halftime lead, Vassar's men's basketball team reversed course in the second half and won its 12th game of the season, 58-55, Tuesday night.

The victory snaps a two-game losing streak for the Brewers, who resume Liberty League play this Friday night at 8:00 against Union at the Athletics & Fitness Center. Vassar will host Skidmore College on Saturday at 4:00 pm.

Senior Tyson Brazell (Salt Lake City, UT/Waterford School) led the Brewers with 18 points. Junior Brian Butterworth (Hamilton, MA/Hamilton-Wenham) added 12 points. Both Brazell and junior forward Joe Davis (East Amherst, NY/St. Joseph's Institute) pulled down six rebounds.

The Brewers fell behind by 11 points, 32-21 at halftime, after shooting just 28 percent from the field. The Hawks (7-10) shot extremely well in the first half (55.6 percent) in building their lead and shot 54 percent for the game. Vassar found its groove in the second half, however, shooting 50 percent from the field and outscored their hosts 37-23 over the final 20 minutes. Brazell scored 11 of his 18 points in the second half.

The Brewers battled steadily for the first ten minutes of the second half, using a 27-2 run in the second half to erase a 13-point deficit. Following a Davis layup with 11:21 to play, Vassar took a 37-36 advantage, a lead they would not relinquish. A layup by Matt Nunn (Abington Friends/Lower Gwynedd, PA) with 8:15 to play afforded Vassar its largest lead of 12 points, 48-36. Hartwick responded with a 10-0 run that was punctuated by a three-pointer by A.J. Beaulieu (Chicopee, MA) at the 5:33 mark to pull Hartwick to within 48-46. That was as close as Hartwick would get. Vassar pulled away with a 5-0 run and led 58-51. Hartwick rallied with a lay-up by Beaulieu with 35 seconds left and then another by Ramond Doyley (Yonkers, NY) with 21 ticks remaining to give the Hawks one last chance. Following a missed free throw by Vassar, Hartwick had numerous chances to send the game into overtime but missed several shots before a last second turnover cemented the victory for Vassar.

Vassar finished the game shooting 21 of 53 (.396) from the field, but nailed 13 of 30 shots from beyond the three-point line. Brazell had four three pointers. All of Butterworth's 12 points came from long range. Sophomore guard Casey Black (Littleton, CO/Chatfield) contributed a career high nine points in a reserve role, all coming from three-point land.

A.J. Beaulieu led Hartwick with 20 points on 9 of 14 shooting from the field. Doyley posted a 10-point, six-rebound effort. Cory Carson (Gansevoort, NY) chipped in nine points, six rebounds and dished out six assists. The Empire 8 Conference's scoring leader, Jan Cocozziello (Scotch Plains, NJ), who was averaging 20.5 points per game, was held to a seven-point, six-assist effort.