POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (December 3, 2015) – The Vassar College men's basketball team will finally open its home schedule this Saturday, hosting the Continentals of Hamilton College in non-conference play from the Athletics and Fitness Center. The Brewers alternated losses and wins every night thus far, falling to another New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) team in No. 18 Trinity College 74-56 in Hartford, CT.

Game Details
Opponent: vs. Hamilton College (4-2, 0-0 NESCAC)
Links:
(Vassar Men's Basketball Home Page) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
(Hamilton Men's Basketball Home Page) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
Site: Poughkeepsie, NY
Facility:  Athletics and Fitness Center
Date: December 5, 2015
Time:  4:00 p.m.
Game Coverage: (Live Stats) (Live Video)

What To Look For
The Brewers and Continentals played one of the craziest games in recent memory last year in Clinton, NY, as Hamilton rallied from being down 17 points with seven minutes to play to take a three-point lead with 13 seconds left. With two seconds remaining, Tony Caletti (Mill Valley, CA/Branson) took a three-pointer that came off the rim but was judged to have been goaltended at the buzzer to tie the game. VC won in overtime, as Luka Ladan scored eight of the Brewers' 11 points in the extra period for the 79-74 win. 

A Look At The Continentals (4-2)
Hamilton College has won three of its last four games, fresh off a 74-65 win over SUNY Polytechnic on Wednesday evening. The Continentals have seen all six games this season be decided by nine points or less, as three contests had a spread of four or less points. Hamilton is scoring 73.5 points per game, a respectable number, but in the ultra-competitive NESCAC the Continentals rank 10^th in scoring average. Hamilton has a strong interior defense, ranking second in the NESCAC with 6.7 blocks per game, while holding teams to just 40.1 percent shooting from the floor. Rebounding has also be a tough task for HC, as it comes into the weekend last in total boards with 39.3 per outing.

Freshman guard Peter Hoffman has started his collegiate career out very strong, as he leads the Hamilton attack with 13.7 points per game, shooting 50 percent from the floor while knocking down 40 percent from behind the arc. Jack Dwyer is the only other Continental scorer in double figures with 12.2 points nightly, averaging 4.9 assists per game to lead the squad. Jack Donnelly has come off the bench in all six games for HC, notching 9.7 points per game, while Andrew Groll and Wes Wilber both pull in 5.5 boards per game to top the rebounding category. Junior Kyle Pittman has also played all six games as a reserve, and is tied for the team lead in made three-pointers with nine.

Against Hamilton All-Time
These two teams have played extensively over the last 15 years, as Hamilton was a founding member of the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Conference, now known as the Liberty League. Hamilton has had the upper hand, winning 24 of the 27 games dating back to 1989. Interestingly, both of VC's last two wins have come in overtime, by five points.

Cool Caletti
Sophomore Tony Caletti posted his career high last year against Hamilton, as he was 6-for-11 from downtown en route to 18 points in Clinton, NY.

Jesse And The Rippers
There's been no sophomore slump for standout Jesse Browne (Barrington, RI/Deerfield Academy), who posted a season-high 20 points Wednesday and has scored 15 or more points in all five games this year for VC.

Three For Me
Senior guard Erikson Wasyl (Durham, CT/Coginchaug) has been great from behind the arc in his career, and has hit a three-pointer in his last 16 games dating back to last year. In fact, over his career Wasyl has made at least one triple in 64 of his last 75 games.

Getting To The Line
This season, Vassar has made 50 free throws, with 45 coming from the trio of Jesse Browne, Erikson Wasyl and freshman center Paul Grinde (Virginia Beach, VA/Cape Henry).

Big Man
Paul Grinde currently leads the team in rebounding with 8.2 per game, as he has paced the squad in boards in three of the five contests thus far.

Big Plus
Though foul trouble has plagued the big fella at times, Paul Grinde is currently Vassar's leader in plus-minus with a +8, as VC is nearly two points better per game when he's on the floor.

Field Goal Is Good
Sophomore Jesse Browne leads the team in effective field goal percentage, which accounts three-pointers made, as he is posting a 60.8 EFG% this season. Freshman Chris Gallivan (East Walpole, MA/Walpole) is second with an EFG% of 57.7 percent.

Rivals No More
New York and Massachusetts are normally rivals in most sports i.e. Red Sox-Yankees, Patriots-Jets, but Vassar has brought the two states together here at Vassar. VC has three players from each state, tied for the most represented states on the squad.

Up Next
Vassar will host its second home game of the season this upcoming Wednesday evening at 7 p.m., taking on Southern Vermont College (2-2) in the AFC in the final game before the exam break.