TROY, NY (February 21, 2016) — The Vassar College men's basketball team is headed to the Liberty League Semifinals after fighting for the fourth and final spot of the Championships on Sunday. 

Vassar, Rochester Institute of Technology and Hobart College all finished the season with 12-13 overall and 8-8 in-conference records, but because the Brewers won three games against those two teams, they earned the last spot in the tournament.

Skidmore College (16-8, 11-5 Liberty League) is seeded first, Union College (13-11, 10-6) is second and St. Lawrence University (13-11, 9-7) is third.

Sunday proved to be an exciting day in the Liberty League with multiple teams playing for the postseason. Although Vassar fell on the road to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 71-63, RIT also lost, 87-69, against Union to secure the Brewers's trip to the postseason.

This marks the second time in three seasons coach BJ Dunne has led the Brewers to the tournament. It also marks the 16th time in the program's 45-year history the Brewers have won 10-plus games in a season. 

Jesse Browne logged 22 points, five rebounds, three assists and a block, Mickey Adams earned a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds and Erikson Wasyl finished with 11 points and a game-high four assists.

Vassar shot 41 percent from the floor and 38 percent (6-of-16) from three, while RPI shot 47 and 44 percent (10-of-23), respectively.

Tyler Gendron totaled 21 points for the Engineers (12-13, 6-10), Jonathan Luster added 15 points, six rebounds, four assists and two blocks and Chase Almond finished with 14 points and seven rebounds. 

The first half was about as close as it could have been with five ties and seven lead changes, ending with the Brewers holding a 35-34 edge. 

After Paul Grinde opened the second half with a bucket, Luster finished two layups to give the Engineers a 38-37 lead. Gendron followed with a layup of his own for a 40-37 advantage, but Adams made a three-pointer to tie the game.

Baskets were exchanged before Luster scored from distance for a 45-42 lead with 15:49 remaining. The Engineers stayed in front the rest of the way. The Brewers pulled within one point three times thereafter, but an 11-2 run by RPI - capped by back-to-back threes from Gendron - gave the Engineers a 10-point edge with 5:06 to play.

The Brewers scored five unanswered to get as close as 68-63 with 3:04 remaining, but the Engineers made all three of their shots from the foul line to win their second straight. 

The Vassar men's basketball team hopes to extend its season even longer when it faces first-seeded Skidmore in Saratoga Springs, NY on Wednesday at 7 p.m.