HARTFORD, CT (December 31, 2013) – The Vassar College men's basketball team captured the Trinity College Holiday Invitational Tuesday afternoon with a 63-62 clutch win over the host institute, Trinity as the Brewers continue their current win streak, now at seven.

    After Vassar (7-1) took a six-point lead, 61-55, with 1:01 left off a junior forward Luka Ladan (Belmont, MA/Belmont) layup, the Bantams (7-4) went on a 7-0 run with four good free throws and a three-pointer from Jaquann Starks, taking the lead 62-61 with 8.2 seconds remaining. The Brewers crossed half court and called a timeout off the inbound with 3.4 seconds left.

    Senior forward Evan Carberry (Metuchen, NJ/Metuchen) passed into sophomore guard Johnny Mrlik (San Francisco, CA/St. Ignatius College Preparatory) who made a low-driving move to the basket where he was fouled by Starks with 0.4 seconds on the clock. The foul sent Mrlik to the line to shoot two. He sunk both of the charity shots and gave Vassar its seventh, straight win of the season as Rick Naylor sent a hopeful, halfcourt three-pointer as time expired.

    Before Ladan's layup at 1:01, he teamed with Mrlik and junior forward Alex Snyder (Rutland, VT/Rutland) to retake the lead after an 11-0 run.

    The Brewers were down in the first half by as much as nine points and multiple instances by as much as seven. Vassar however went into the locker room at half time with a 30-29 lead which was partially due to its smart play on defense.

    The Brewers forced Trinity to commit eight, first half fouls while only handing out four of their own. Snyder was the only Brewer who was sent to the line for free throws in the half, including making his and-one after a good layup.

    Starks was the only Bantam to score in double-digits. Besides his two free throws, all of his points came from outside of the arc, making 4-of-9 shot attempts for a total of 14 points. He also dished out a game-high, six assists.

    The Brewers were led by Mrlik's 16 points. Snyder followed suit with 14 points while sophomore guard Erikson Wasyl (Durham, CT/Coginchaug) pursued with 11 tallies and a game-high, two steals. Snyder and Mrlik tied with Trinity's Shay Ajayi for the game-high in boards with eight.

    The Brewers will next host St. Joseph's College – Brooklyn on Tuesday, January 7 at 8:00 pm. The Bantams will next host Manhattanville College on Saturday, January 4 at 2:00 pm.

Mrlik and Snyder were named to the All-Tournament team along with Starks from Trinity, Derek Mayo of Wentworth and Mike McClung from University of Maine at Fort Kent.