POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (February 24, 2014) – The #2 Vassar College men's basketball team will host the Thoroughbreds of #3 Skidmore College on Wednesday in the Athletics and Fitness Center for the Liberty League postseason semi-final game, the Brewers first play-off berth since the 2007-2008 season.

Game Details
Opponent: Skidmore (16-9, 10-6 Liberty League)
Site: Poughkeepsie, NY
Facility: Athletics and Fitness Center Gymnasium (1,200)
Date: February 26, 2014
Time: 8:00 pm
Live Stats
Live Video

What to Look For

The Brewers (18-7, 10-6 Liberty League) split last weekend's games against St. Lawrence and Clarkson. On Friday night, Vassar defeated St. Lawrence for the second time this season by a score of 76-58 to clinch a spot in the playoffs. On Saturday, Vassar lost to Clarkson, 77-75, in an overtime thriller. Sophomore Johnny Mrlik (San Francisco, CA/St. Ignatius College Preparatory) led his squad in both of the final match-ups of the regular season. He had 17 points off five made three-pointers against the Saints of St. Lawrence and 29 points off of six made three-pointers against the Golden Knights of Clarkson. Sophomore point guard Erikson Wasyl (Durham, CT/Coginchaug) led the team in minutes and finished the weekend with 22 points and seven assists.

At the end of regular season play, Mrlik averages 18.8 points a night. Junior forwards Alex Snyder (Rutland, VT/Rutland) and Luka Ladan (Belmont, MA/ Belmont) combined for an average of 23.3 points per game and 14.5 rebounds per contest.

Vassar finished the regular season with the number one scoring defense in the League, having only allowed an average of 67.2 points per game, while scoring 73 a night. The Brewers shot 48.1 percent from the field. On the boards, the Brewers averaged 38.6 rebounds per game and given up 34.5 rebounds a showing. Vassar averaged 71.2 percent from the free-throw line.

Head coach B.J. Dunne has brought his team, which was voted eighth in the Liberty League in the coaches' preseason poll, from a record of 3-13 last season to 10-6 in the Liberty League (an all-time Vassar College record for the most League wins) and the number two seed.


A Look At The Thoroughbreds

Skidmore finished up the regular season with an 84-68 win against Union and a 91-87 loss against Rochester Institute of Technology. This resulted in four teams including Skidmore, Vassar, Clarkson and RIT all finishing the regular season with a 10-6 conference record. Against Union, Erik Sanders led all scorers with 28 points, ten of which came from the free-throw line. He was also was 6-for-9 from the behind the three-point arc. Four players scored in double-digits in the Friday night victory.

Skidmore has three players that rank in the top twenty scorers in the Liberty League. Sanders averages 15.8 points per game, taking the number six spot in the League. Teammate Aldin Medunjanin averages 14.9 points per game while Connor Merrill averages 12.2 per game.

The Thoroughbreds shot 45.7 percent from the field so far this season. They averaged 75.5 points per game and allowed only 68.3 from their opponents for the best scoring margin in the League. Skidmore averaged eight made three-pointers per game. As a squad, the Thoroughbreds averaged 5.28 blocks per game.

Against Skidmore All-Time

The Thoroughbreds lead the series all-time with a record of 23-17. The Brewers swept both games against Skidmore in the 2013-14 season. In the earlier matchups this season, the Brewers earned a 71-66 win on the road and then a 71-67 claim at the AFC. Vassar's two victories were the first since 2009.


Sharp Shooting

The Brewers have shot 48.1 percent from the field, which is good enough to hold the top field goal in the Liberty League. Skidmore is close behind in field goal percentage, having shot 45.7 percent from the floor.


Beyond The Arc…

The Brewers have the top three-point percentage in the League, shooting 40.1 percent from behind the three-point arc. Both Skidmore and Vassar average about eight three-pointers per game. Wasyl leads the League in three-point percentage (48.4 percent), while Mrlik ranks third in percentage (38.7 percent) and first in three-pointers per game (2.9). Skidmore guard Tanner Brooks is one to watch from three as well; he is shooting 34.9 percent and averaging 2.4 per game.


In The Paint

As a team, Vassar averages 3.88 blocked shots per game, compared to Skidmore's League best 5.33 blocked shots per game. Thoroughbred Connor Merrill has been one to watch in the paint. He averages two blocked shots per game


Up Next

If Vassar wins on Wednesday, they go on to play either #1 Hobart in Geneva, NY or host #4 Clarkson at home, in the case of an upset.