Box Score

POTSDAM, NY (January 15, 2010) – A rough night at the foul line sealed the fate of the Vassar College men's basketball team on Friday, dropping its low-scoring Liberty League opener, 62-52, to Clarkson University. The Brewers missed 11 free throws (7-for-18, 38.9 percent) in the 10-point loss.

With their ninth straight loss, the Brewers fall to 2-9, 0-1 in the league and take on St. Lawrence University on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. The Golden Knights improve to 7-4, 1-0, and will host Rensselaer tomorrow at 4:00 p.m.

After playing to a 23-23 first half tie, the teams traded baskets to open up the second half. Clarkson broke the deadlock first with an Elson Pickering layup while Vassar sophomore Caleb McGraw responded with a layup of his own on the other end. Jonathan Hood gave the Golden Knights another two-point lead, and McGraw again answered, with a three-pointer. Felix Llanos returned the favor with a three of his own and this time the Brewers had no reply, as another three-pointer from Keith Murray and a layup from Llanos spotted the Golden Knights their largest lead to that point, 35-28, with 15:48 to play.

Clarkson held onto its advantage, and took its largest lead at 47-37 with 8:40 remaining. The Brewers continued to chip away at the deficit and an old-fashioned three-point play from freshman John Donnelly drew Vassar within four, 50-46, with 5:31 left to play. However, the Golden Knights scored four unanswered points to take an eight point lead with 3:59 to play. A three-pointer from sophomore Nick Justiz brought Vassar back within four with 1:22 remaining, but the Brewers were unable to draw any closer.

In a closely-played first half, the Brewers took a 6-5 lead on a Chris Whitney jumper three minutes into the game and held the lead until the final 2:30 of the half. Vassar matched its largest lead, 18-9, on another Whitney basket with 7:03 remaining, but the Golden Knights went on a 14-5 run to close out the half and a Llanos bucket with six seconds remaining sent the teams into the locker room knotted at 23.

McGraw led the Brewers with a game-high 20 points, while Justiz chipped in with 13 points and three assists. Whitney and Donnelly added six points apiece, with Donnelly pulling down a game-high eight rebounds.

Rey Jefferson led a balanced Clarkson scoring effort, with 14 points, while Llanos added 11, Murray chipped in with nine points and three blocks, and Tyler Barron contributed eight points.