Box Score

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (January 20, 2009) -- The Vassar College men's basketball team made two second-half runs, but the Brewers could not repair the damage done by an 18-4 run that visiting Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) used to close out the first half, and lost a 69-59 Liberty League decision Tuesday night at the Athletics & Fitness Center.

Vassar, now 5-9 overall and 0-3 in the league, will look for its first Liberty League win Friday night against Clarkson at 8:00 pm. RPI improves to 8-6 on the year, with a 2-1 record in the Liberty League.

The first fifteen minutes of the first half showed the typical grit of a close Liberty League contest. RPI scored first on a layup by Ricky Philatre (Randolph, MA/Randolph), but Vassar took a 5-2 lead after a layup by Joe Davis (East Amherst, NY/St. Joseph's Institute) and a three-pointer by Brian Butterworth (Hamilton, MA/Hamilton-Wenham). Seven minutes later, RPI went up 14-10 after a jumper by Jeremy Bull (Wollridge, VA/St. Stephens & St. Agnes) but the Brewers again came back to tie the game at 16-16.

But with 5:22 to play in the half and RPI up by just two, Tim Rupp (Staten Island, NY/Curtis) made a layup that put RPI up 28-24 and started the game-changing run. Jeremy Colon (Manchester, NH/West) followed with a steal and dish to Bull for another layup, then got five straight points of his own with a three-pointer and subsequent layup. By the time RPI's run was halted by halftime, it had taken a commanding 44-28 lead.

Vassar started the second frame with a quick 10-0 run that included two three-pointers from Caleb McGraw (Sitka, AK/Mount Edgecumbe), and cut the lead to 44-38 with 15 minutes to play. But RPI responded with an 8-0 run of its own, and appeared to have the game in hand when another Rupp layup gave RPI a 56-40 lead, its largest of the day. But the Brewers again refused to fold. McGraw and Butterworth each hit two three-pointers in a span of less than three minutes, and a free-throw by Davis again had RPI's lead down to seven, 60-53.

Despite its flurry of threes, Vassar was unable to keep RPI off the glass and another 5-0 run by RPI put the Brewers away. RPI out-rebounded Vassar 51-31 in the game, Philatre had eight of his game-high 12 rebounds on the offensive end. RPI scored 22 second-half points in the paint compared to Vassar's two.
Rupp, Bull, and Colon all scored in double figures for RPI, with 14, 13 and 13 points respectively, and Rupp added nine boards. McGraw led Vassar with 17 points (5-of-8 from three), while Davis had 15 points and seven boards, and Butterworth had 14 points and three steals.