POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (February 14, 2014) – The Vassar College men's basketball team host two of its final three home games of the 2014 season on Friday and Saturday against Skidmore College and Union College. Both games are near, must-win situations for a chance for the Brewers to host a Liberty League playoff game.

Game Details (Whiteout)
Opponent: Skidmore College (14-7, 8-4 Liberty League)
Site: Poughkeepsie, NY
Facility: Athletics and Fitness Center Gymnasium (1,200)
Date: February 14, 2014
Time: 8:00 pm
Live Stats
Live Video

Game Details (Senior Day)
Opponent: Union College (7-12, 4-7 Liberty League)
Site: Poughkeepsie, NY
Facility: Athletics and Fitness Center Gymnasium (1,200)
Date: February 15, 2014
Time: 4:00 pm
Live Stats
Live Video

What to Look For
The Brewers (15-5, 7-4 Liberty League) fell on both road games this past weekend, losing to Rochester Institute of Technology 88-78 and Hobart College 68-52. The Brewers tied the game against Hobart with a 14-5 run, making it a 36-36 deadlock with hopes of taking their first lead and getting payback on the Statesmen for the home, two-point loss earlier in the year. Earlier on Friday, Vassar went on a 37-24 tear that brought its hope of tying within five of the Tigers, 75-80. RIT shut down the comeback with an 8-3 run in the final 58 seconds of play for the win.

Sophomore Johnny Mrlik (San Francisco, CA/St. Ignatius College Preparatory) holds the top scoring status on the team with 17.6 a night. Sophomore Erikson Wasyl (Durham, CT/Coginchaug), junior Luka Ladan (Belmont, MA/Belmont) and junior Alex Snyder (Rutland, VT/Rutland) add averages of 12.4, 12.1 and 10.7 points per game. Snyder, Mrlik, Ladan and senior Evan Carberry (Metuchen, NJ/Metuchen) pull down a combined 25.5 rebounds a night.

Vassar is averaging 71.4 points a night while allowing 65.8 a show. The Brewers' shooters still hold strong with a 47.9 percent field goal and a 38.4 percent three-point averages. Vassar is hitting 70.2 percent from the free throw line. The Brewers grab 38.4 boards a game and dish out 13.1 assists.

Friday's game is designated as a Whiteout where Brewer fans dress in as much white as they can, never sit in the bleachers and non-stop cheer. Saturday's game is Senior Day where Carberry and fellow senior John Donnelly (Williston, VT/Champlain Valley Union) will be honored in pregame ceremonies at half court.

A Look at the Thoroughbreds
Skidmore is on a five-game win streak with three of them being wins by no less than 21 points (66-45 vs Clarkson) and as much as 46 (83-37 vs. Bard). More recently, the Thoroughbreds topped St. Lawrence University 52-50 on the road Tuesday evening. Aldin Medunjanin scored the game-high 16 points with 11 occurring in the second half. The win was Skidmore's fourth straight game keeping opponents to 50 or less points.

Erik Sanders and Medunjanin lead Skidmore's five double-figure scoring players with 15.8 and 15 points per game, respectively. Connor Merrill and Sanders stand out under the backboards with rebounding averages of 6.1 and 6.0 a contest.

The Thoroughbreds average 75.4 points a show and allow 67.9 from opponents. Their free throw shooters only score from the line 69.7 percent of the time. Skidmore is making 44.7 percent of shots from the field and 32.3 percent from the three-point arc. The Thoroughbreds pull in 40.2 boards a night and give away 38.6.

Against Skidmore All-Time
The Vassar-Skidmore series has a lot of history since 1989. The Thoroughbreds lead with a record of 23-16. In the earlier matchup this season, the Brewers earned a 71-66 win. It was the first victory in favor of Vassar since 2009.

A Look at the Dutchmen
Union earned a nine-point win over Bard College this past Wednesday, 84-73. They will face the Raptors again on Friday evening before making the trip to the AFC. William Hython recorded his second straight double-double with 16 points and 14 boards. Ryan Whelpley added a double-double of his own with 10 tallies and 10 rebounds.

Terell Winney leads the Dutchmen with 16.4 points per night while Hython adds a team second best 12.4 points and 7.2 rebounds a game. Whelpley records on average the team's best mark in rebounds with 7.5 a showing.

Union is registering 76.9 a contest while allowing 83.4 from its opponents. The Dutchmen shoot 70.5 percent from the charity line, 43.4 percent from the floor and 30.4 percent from three-point land. They average 10.8 assists and 39.5 rebounds per game.

Against Union All-Time
The Vassar-Union series has the scales tipped in favor of the Dutchmen. They lead with a record of 31-7 since 1988. Vassar has not defeated Union since the first meeting in 2012 (72-67 at Union) and not at home since 2009 (82-55). The Brewers' first win against Union happened on December 4, 1996 in Poughkeepsie. Union was the team that snapped Vassar's impressive win streak of nine. The streak was one short of tying the school record.

Still One Of The Best
Vassar's defensive field goal percentage is fourth in the country as of February 9. They allow only 37 percent from the floor after being the #1 defense in the country last week. The Brewers are also nationally ranked in terms of three-point field goal defense, being spotted at #19 and allowing 29.7 percent.

Other National Highlights
The Brewers are #14 in the country for defensive rebounds per game with 29. The Vassar shooters have made 47.9 percent from the ground, which is good enough for #43. Its arc-specialists shoot for 38.4 percent per game and give Vassar the #51 spot in the national rankings.

Hault!
The Brewers are ranked third in the Liberty League in terms of blocked shot attempts. They stand behind Skidmore and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with 3.9 a game.

Up Next
The Brewers' will host their final home game of the season against RPI on Tuesday, February 18 at 8:00 pm.