Box Score

    CANTON, NY (February 21, 2014) – The Vassar College men's basketball team clinched their first Liberty League Playoff spot since the historic 2007-08 season with their 76-58 win over the Saints of St. Lawrence University on Friday evening at Burkman Gymnasium.

    This is also the first time ever that the Brewers (18-6, 10-5 Liberty League) have won 10 League games. Vassar also tied the single season overall wins record at 18. Both single season program markers are better than the cumulatives in both categories for the past three years.

    Sophomore Johnny Mrlik (San Francisco, CA/St. Ignatius College Preparatory) busted open a huge second half scoring effort by the Brewers tallying 12 of his 17 points in that portion. Between him, senior Evan Carberry (Metuchen, NJ/Metuchen), junior Curtis Smith (Mastic, NY/Eastport South Manor) and sophomore Erikson Wasyl (Durham, CT/Coginchaug), the Brewers hit 7-of-11 three-pointers in the second half (63.6 percent).

    After Wasyl hit a three-pointer with 4:31 left in the first half and made the score in favor of the Brewers (18-6, 10-5 Liberty League), 24-19, Vassar and the Saints (9-15, 5-10 Liberty League) exchanged blows back-and-forth until the score was tied, 29-29 with 52 seconds on the clock. Carberry gave Vassar the halftime advantage with a long distance call from three-point land with one second left.

    The Brewers opened the second half with a 18-3 run that gave them the 47-32 lead with 13:10 left in regulation. Vassar led the Saints by as much as 25 points after a layup from junior Luka Ladan (Belmont, MA/Belmont) and the follow-up, and-one free throw along with a pair of charity tosses from freshman Otis Osman (Far Hills, NJ/Pingry School) when Janpeter Brase earned a technical foul during Ladan's free throw.

    Ladan finished with 14 points while Wasyl, Carberry and junior Alex Snyder (Rutland, VT/Rutland) supplied 13, 12 and 10 points respectively to the Brewer total. Snyder's 10 tallies matched his rebounds for his ninth double-double of the year.

The Brewers' 'Board Maniacs' out rebounded the Saints 41-28 with 12 offensive boards compared to SLU's nine second-chance grabs.

The Brewers will next fight for the #2 spot in the Liberty League tomorrow afternoon at Clarkson University in their final regular season game of the year before the playoffs on Wednesday.