POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (November 15, 2016) — Alex Seff's career night propelled the Vassar College men's basketball team to a 71-65, season-opening win over New Paltz at the Athletics and Fitness Center on Tuesday.
The sophomore guard registered a double-double of 34 points and 12 rebounds, passing Johnny Mrlik into the No. 2 spot for most points scored since single game records began being kept in 2000. Only Caleb McGraw has ever scored more, totaling 37 in 2009.
"That was one of the best individual performances I've seen in my four years here and has to be in program history," coach B.J. Dunne said. "It has to be, he had 34 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, three charges. He played with incredible heart. He was dealing with cramps. When he's playing at that type of pace and with that type of energy, the rest of the team really plays with him, and it's really fun to watch him ignite us like that."
The first half featured five ties and five lead changes before Vassar started to pull away. Seff set off a 17-2 outburst with back-to-back baskets, a layup and a triple, with about eight minutes remaining.
With the run, the Brewers took a 33-20 advantage, eventually pushing their lead to as many as 15, 39-24, thanks to a reverse layup by Jesse Browne. The Hawks promptly pulled within six, 39-33, scoring the final nine points to end the half.
New Paltz continued to find the bottom of the net early in the second half, closing the gap completely to tie it at 41-all with about 16 minutes to go. Vassar scored three of the next four field goals, capping the mini-burst with a trey by Hunter Gettings, 48-43.
The Hawks scored the following eight points, but Seff ended the drought, draining back-to-back threes from the top of the key. Those two triples, the one he rattled in and the other he swished home, sparked a 10-2 run to give Vassar a 58-53 edge with 7:38 to go.
"As a team, we really practice our stuff over and over, and to play against someone who didn't know what plays we were going to run, I think that really helped us. It was definitely a team effort," Seff said when asked about the key to his success. "I was getting really easy looks based on the passes and the screens my teammates were giving me."
Seff continued to amaze down the stretch, highlighting the second half with his swipe-and-score to make it a 62-59 advantage with 3:38 remaining. Fellow guard Owen Murray helped ice the game, finding Chris Gallivant inside to make it a two-possession game, 69-65, with 18 seconds left.
"It was really great for us at the end of that game," Dunne said. "We had three sophomores, a freshman and a junior on the floor. To know that we can stay composed and be really poised down the stretch was really key for us moving forward."
Next up, the Brewers host the Vassar Tip-Off Tournament, featuring competition from Johnson State, Lehman College and Keuka College. The former teams face off on Friday, Nov. 18 at 6 p.m., while Vassar plays Keuka immediately after at 8 p.m.
The consolation game will take place on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 2 p.m., and the championship game will follow at 4 p.m.
—VASSAR—
