Box Score

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (February 13, 2009) -- Senior guard Lenny Holt (Watertown, MA/Watertown) connected on a driving layup with 12 seconds remaining and visiting Skidmore missed two ensuing free throws and a last ditch 3-pointer, as the Vassar men's basketball team rallied for a 74-73 victory Friday evening at the Athletics & Fitness Center. Senior forward Matt Nunn (Lower Gwynedd, PA/Abington Friends) scored a career-high 27 points for the Brewers, getting 20 of those in the first half.

Vassar improves to 8-13, 3-7, and stays in the Liberty League playoff race with four games remaining, while Skidmore falls to 7-15, 2-9. The Brewers host Union tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. on Senior Day, while Skidmore travels to RPI to take on the Red Hawks at the same time.

With twelve seconds remaining, Holt's drive put the Brewers up by one, 74-73. But a blocking foul on the other end gave Skidmore freshman guard Gerard O'Shea (West Sand Lake, NY/Averill Park) a chance to win the game. O'Shea missed both free throws, preserving Vassar's lead. O'Shea also had a last second chance to win, but his desperation 3-point heave rimmed out at the buzzer.

Two weeks after Skidmore blew open a close game against Vassar with a 17-point unanswered run, the Thoroughbreds again caught fire late. Skidmore overcame a 16-point first half deficit to take its first lead with just over five minutes to play in the game. Skidmore would extend that lead to seven, 71-64, with 3:16 to play, but were unable to hold off the feisty Brewers in the closing minutes.

With 11:01 to go in the second half a 3-pointer by freshman Melvis Langyintuo (Tamale, Ghana/The Lawrenceville School) made the score 58-56 Vassar -- the closest Skidmore had been since four minutes into the game. Less than two minutes later, a three-pointer by sophomore Jeff Altimar (Medfield, MA/Medfield) cut the lead to one.

With 5:17 remaining, Skidmore finally grabbed the lead for the first time. Langyintuo stole the ball at mid-court, went in for a fast break lay-up, and was fouled. He missed the and-one opportunity, but the Thoroughbreds still took a 65-64 lead. They would extend their lead to 71-64 before Vassar scored again. Senior Joe Davis (East Amherst, NY/St. Joseph's Institute) scored a fast break lay-up with less than 3 minutes remaining to end a scoreless run of nearly seven minutes for the Brewers.

A blocking foul and then a technical on Skidmore freshman center Kyle Clark (New York, NY/Poly Prep Country Day) with 1:32 remaining gave the Brewers an opening. Nunn converted all four free throws, and Clark fouled out on the sequence. On the next possession, Nunn drove hard to the hoop to give Vassar a 72-71 lead with a tough lay-in.

Although Vassar never trailed in the first half, a late 10-0 run by Skidmore cut the difference to 43-37 at the break. Vassar jumped out to a 6-0 lead thanks to a pair of nice post-up baskets by Nunn, who had 7 of Vassar's first 10 points and 20 overall in the first half. A long three-pointer as the shot clock expired and an ensuing fast break basket, both by freshman guard Nick Justiz (Old Westbury, NY/Wheatley), pushed the Brewers' lead to 17-8. The Brewers grabbed their first double-digit lead of the contest when Nunn found Davis underneath and the senior's lay-in pushed the Vassar lead to 23-12.

Senior Jake Shechtman (Wynnewood, PA/The Shipley School) kept the Thoroughbreads close with three treys in a 46-second span with eight minutes remaining in the half. With 2:23 left in the first half, Altimar lost his shoe and was subsequently beaten off the dribble by Holt for a lay-up that pushed Vassar's lead to 43-27, the largest margin of the game. With both shoes on, Altimar came back and hit consecutive three-pointers to cut the deficit to 43-35.

Davis finished with 21 points on perfect 7-of-7 shooting from the field. He also had 9 rebounds and 3 blocks in the win. Senior Brian Butterworth (Hamilton, MA/Hamilton-Wenham) added 8 rebounds for the Brewers. Altimar led Skidmore in scoring with 15, freshman Terron Victoria (Albany, NY/Bishop Maginn) had 12 points, and Langyintuo was also in double-figures with 10.