Box Score

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY (January 31, 2009) -- If the Vassar men's basketball team falls short of clawing its way back into the Liberty League playoff picture, it can look to the final 4:22 of Saturday's game against Skidmore as a deciding factor. Down by just two points, 47-45, with 4:22 remaining, the Brewers inexplicably didn't score another point, while the Thoroughbreds went on an uncontested 17-0 run in coasting to a 64-45 victory. The loss nullified a 21-point effort on 8-for-10 shooting by senior forward Matt Nunn (Lower Gynwedd, PA/Abington Friends).

The loss drops the Brewers to 7-11, 2-5, while Skidmore, which had been winless in Liberty League play until this past weekend, improves to 7-11, 2-5. Starting with a February 6 game against Hobart at 8:00 p.m., Vassar will play its next four games at the Athletics & Fitness Center. Skidmore will next host Hamilton.

The Brewers, who scored 87 points in overtime against Union on Friday night, were held to a season-low 45 points on Saturday afternoon and managed just 33 percent shooting from the field, the third lowest performance of the season. In a game that was seemingly up for grabs over the final 10 minutes, the Brewers held only three leads, all of which were quickly erased by the host Thoroughbreds.

Two free throws by freshman guard Caleb McGraw (Sitka, AK/Mount Edgecombe) with 7:48 to play afforded Vassar its last lead at 43-42. None of Vassar's leads were more than a point, and the Brewers' scoring drought ensured it would be an uphill cause against Skidmore, which improved its shooting accuracy in the second half (from 35 to 40 percent) and connected on 16 of 18 free throws, 13 of which came in the final 20 minutes.

A pair of free throws by Nunn with 4:22 to play brought the Brewers within 47-45, but Skidmore pulled away, getting aggressive baskets from junior forward Jon Douglas (Shutesbury, MA/Amherst Regional) and freshman guard Terron Victoria (Albany, NY/Bishop Maginn) down the stretch. That pair had 12 and 16 points respectively and were responsible for the Brewers never gaining enough momentum to stop the flow of Skidmore's 17 unanswered points.

Nunn's 21 points, his 14th double figures effort of the season, led the Brewers. McGraw's six points were next highest. Senior guard Brian Butterworth (Hamilton, MA/Hamiltn-Wenham) had eight rebounds. Sophomore guard Jeff Altimar (Medfield, MA/Medfield) had eight rebounds for Skidmore.

Both Vassar and Skidmore were coming off big Friday night wins, and the first half started slowly and lethargically. The teams combined for just 16 points in the first ten minutes and Skidmore limped into intermission with a slight 24-21 lead. Nunn had seven first half points, but Vassar's shooting woes contributed to a 30 percent field goal percentage (6 of 20) and only one of five from three-point distance.