POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (January 9, 2014) – The Vassar College men's basketball team heads into its first Liberty League matchups of the 2013-14 season tomorrow and Saturday against Skidmore and Union Colleges.

Game Details
Opponent: Skidmore College (7-3, 1-0 LL)
Site: Saratoga Springs, NY
Facility: Williamson Sports Center (1,200)
Date: January 10, 2014
Time: 8:00 pm
Live Stats
Live Video

Game Details
Opponent: Union College (3-5, 0-0 LL)
Site: Schenectady, NY
Facility: Viniar Athletic Center (1,000)
Date: January 11, 2014
Time: 4:00 pm
Live Stats
Live Video

What to Look For
The Brewers (8-1) recently fended off a pesky St. Joseph's-Brooklyn team who had fought back from a 20-point deficit in the second half with a 21-3 run. The Brewers responded with a 14-7 run that secured them their eighth win of the season and finished their non-league schedule. Sophomore guard Johnny Mrlik (San Francisco, CA/St. Ignatius College Preparatory) led Vassar with 15 points while the rest of the Brewers' scoring was spread out between seven other players. Luka Ladan (Belmont, MA/Belmont), Alex Snyder (Rutland, VT/Rutland) and Evan Carberry (Metuchen, NJ/Metuchen) hit double-digit scoring in the Brewers' win.

Mrlik leads Vassar with 17.3 points per game and is followed by Erikson Wasyl (Durham, CT/Coginchaug) with 12.0 and Ladan with 11.6 a showing. Snyder earns the recognition under the board with an 8.6 rebounding average. He's followed by Mrlik with 6.3 and Carberry with 5.8 boards a contest.

The Brewers are averaging 70.3 points on offense while allowing only 62.7 on defense. Vassar is hitting for 45.2 percent from the floor and 37.9 percent from beyond the three-point arc.

A Look at the Thoroughbreds
The Thoroughbreds (7-3, 1-0 LL) earned their first Liberty League win with a 70-66 road trip to Clarkson University in Potsdam, NY. Last year's Liberty League Rookie of the Year, Aldin Medunjanin, scored 17 points, leading Skidmore. Connor Merrill drained 15 points, pulled down 15 boards and denied six shots while Tanner Brooks added 15 of his own scoring tallies.

Skidmore is averaging 76.2 points per game while surrendering 73.6. The Thoroughbreds are allowing opponents to shot 34.1 percent from the three-point arc while only shooting 32.9 percent of their long shots. They are also being out-bounded under the board barely by a margin of 0.5 rebounds per game.

Against Skidmore All-Time
The Vassar-Skidmore series has been going on since 1989. Skidmore leads the history with 23 wins while Vassar has 15. The Thoroughbreds won the first nine contests before Vassar won seven out of the next 10 meetings. The Brewers' longest win streak against Skidmore was from February 12, 2005 until February 15, 2008. The last time Vassar defeated Skidmore was in the second meeting of 2009 by a score of 74-73. The Thoroughbreds swept Vassar last year with scores of 64-59 and 67-56.

A Look at the Dutchmen
Five Union players hit double figure scoring in their 95-75 win over Southern Vermont before the start of winter break. Ryan Whelpley grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds while adding 14 points. Kevin Weckworth tallied 20 points with three more Dutchmen scoring 10 and beyond.

Union is allowing 82.6 points a game while its offense is only scoring an average of 79.4. The Dutchmen's opponents are only hitting 29.8 percent of their 161 attempts from beyond the arc. Union pulls down 40.3 rebounds a game which gives them the margin advantage of 0.2.

Against Union All-Time
The Dutchmen lead the Vassar-Union series 30-7 since 1988. The Brewers' last win came on January 7, 2012 with a 72-67 road final. Vassar's only streak in the series occurred between game two of 2007 until the Brewers' sweep of 2009. The Dutchmen swept Vassar last year with finals of 85-74 and 93-60.

Two More For The Tie…We Want Three
The Brewers are on an eight-game win streak. This is Vassar's best season start since 2007-08 where the Brewers started 11-1 including a 10-game streak. The Brewers will tie the streak with a win at Union College and would then capture the record when they host Hobart College the following Friday.

Not Happening For You
Vassar's defense is allowing the least amount of points per game in the Liberty League. It is giving up 62.7 points a contest while Rochester Institute of Technology defenders have given up 67.9 for second-best in the league. Vassar is also allowing only 35.9 percent of shots from the field which is another league best.

The Difference
Vassar's scoring margin between its scoring average and its points allowed average is a Liberty League best. Scoring 70.3 points a game and allowing 62.7, the Brewers have a margin of 7.7 points per game. Clarkson University sits in second with a 6.0 margin after scoring 75.2 a showing and allowing 69.2.

You Missed. Now It's Our Turn
The Brewers pull down the most defensive rebounds per game with a slight advantage over Skidmore. Vassar is averaging 29.9 while the Thoroughbreds take 29.7 boards a game. Union is third on the list with 29.0 a game.

Up Next
The Brewers will next begin a five-game home stay starting with Hobart College on Friday, January 17 at 8:00 pm. On the same weekend, Vassar will host RIT at 4:00 pm on Saturday, January 18. The Brewers will then go on to host Bard College, Clarkson University and St. Lawrence University the next week.