Box Score

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (February 7, 2009) – Despite a much-improved shooting performance in the second half, the Vassar College men's basketball team was unable to overcome a slow offensive start, falling to Hamilton College, 74-60, on Saturday at the Athletics & Fitness Center. The Continentals received a dominant performance from freshman forward Patrick Sullivan (Madison, NJ/ Delbarton School), who had 17 points on 7-of-7 shooting from the floor. For the Brewers, senior forward Matt Nunn scored in double figures for the 16th time this season, leading the Brewers with 14 points.

The loss drops Vassar to 7-13 on the season, with a 2-7 record in the Liberty League. The Brewers will next host Union College on Friday, February 13 at 8:00 p.m. Hamilton continues its strong Liberty League play, moving to 8-1 in conference play, and 14-5 on the season. The Continentals will host Clarkson next Friday.

Hamilton jumped out to an early lead and never trailed. Hamilton forward Dayne Harris (Little River, SC/North Myrtle Beach) came off the bench early and provided three straight baskets for the Continentals, putting Hamilton up 16-6 with 10:42 to play. A Caleb McGraw (Sitka, AK/Mount Edgecumbe) three-pointer brought the Brewers back within seven at 16-9, but Hamilton's Jay Simpson's (Fort Washington, MD/Saint John's College) three-pointer with 9:43 to play in the first half gave the Continentals a double-digit cushion at 21-11. Hamilton took a commanding 38-19 lead into halftime.

At the start of the second half, Hamilton was able to push the lead to 24 points with just under 16 minutes to play on an Ephraim McDowell (Boston, MA/Beaver Country Day School) three-pointer, but the Brewers responded immediately, going on a 12-2 run, capped off by a Brian Butterworth (Hamilton, MA/Hamilton-Wenham) shot from beyond the arc with 11:12 to play.

Hamilton protected its lead throughout the second half with a well-balanced attack led by Sullivan and Simpson, who finished with 16 points, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. The Brewers pulled within 11 points on a Butterworth three with 6 minutes to play, but that was as close as Vassar would get.

The Brewers did improve their shooting in the second half, shooting 7-of-16 from beyond the arc. However, Hamilton was able to outperform the Brewers under the basket, holding a 45-27 edge in rebounding, and a 36-24 edge on points in the paint.