POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (January 7, 2014) – The Vassar College men's basketball team fought off a persistent St. Joseph's College-Brooklyn Bears team in their 69-60 home win at the Athletics and Fitness Center Gymnasium on Tuesday evening.

    The Brewers (8-1) held a huge advantage with 14:03 remaining. The Bears (7-7) however nipped at a Brewer 52-32 lead and almost diminished it with a 21-3 run that spanned just over nine minutes in the second half. The run was heavily made possible by the efforts of David Louison and Michael Megafu who both had seven points in the spree.

    Senior forward Evan Carberry (Metuchen, NJ/Metuchen) hit a three-pointer at 10:29 that split of the St. Joe's scoring streaks.

    This game was important for us," head coach B.J. Dunne said. "It's our first three game week. We'll use this as momentum and confidence going into Liberty League play."

    Vassar's defense held steady with the lead still in the Brewers' favor, 55-53, while its scorers responded to the surge from the Bears with a 14-7 run that ended the game with the 69-60 final. Carberry and six other Brewers made shots in that run that kept Vassar's win streak alive. The winning spree is now at eight.

    Johnny Mrlik (San Francisco, CA/St. Ignatius College Preparatory), Erikson Wasyl (Durham, CT/Coginchaug), Andrew Adkins (Richmond, VA/Steward School), Luka Ladan (Belmont, MA/Belmont), Alex Snyder (Rutland, VT/Rutland) and Otis Osman (Far Hills, NJ/Pingry School) joined Carberry in what proved to be the deal-sealing run.

    Vassar's shooters combined for a game total of 26-of-55 field goals (.473 percent) and 9-for-21 three-pointers (.429 percent). St. Joe's made only 19-of-63 (.302 percent) from the floor and 3-of-16 (.188 percent) from beyond the arc. The Bears did make 19-of-31 free throw attempts (.613 percent) while the Brewers were only sent to the line for 11 charity shots. They made eight of them (.727 percent).

    Both teams had four players in double-digit scoring. Megafu led the game with 19 points and also pulled in 10 rebounds for the Bears. Louison added 15 tallies and another 10 boards. Vernon Maddox and Matt O'Neill scored 11 and 10 points, respectively.

    Mrlik's 15 points led the Brewers. Ladan came off the bench, hitting 6-of-9 from the floor and added a team-high nine boards. Snyder tallied 11 points with six rebounds and a game-high four assists. Wasyl matched Snyder with four dishes of his own. Carberry tabbed 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Osman had a game-high three blocks.

    The Brewers will next head into Liberty League play on Friday, January 10 at 8:00 pm when they travel to Saratoga Springs, NY to face the Thoroughbreds of Skidmore College. The next day, they head to Schenectady, NY for a 4:00 pm tip against the Dutchmen of Union College. The Bears next host Brooklyn College at 9:00 pm on Monday, January 13.