POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – The Vassar College men's basketball team put forth an impressive offensive effort in its first game under Head Coach Ryan Mee on Friday night.  The Brewers (1-0) topped the century mark, knocking of New Rochelle (1-2) by a 101-88 count at the Athletic & Fitness Center in their opening game of the Vassar Tip-Off Tournament.
 
Paul Grinde (Virginia Beach, VA) and Zach Bromfeld (Woodmere, NY) both had double-doubles for Vassar.  Grinde posted 24 points and 13 rebounds to go along with three steals and two blocks.  Bromfeld, meanwhile, tallied 11 points and 10 boards off the bench. 
 
Hugh Durham (Savannah, GA) drained five treys and finished with 23 points.  He also grabbed seven rebounds.  Neville Lee (Yonkers, NY) contributed 13 points in his collegiate debut, and Alex Seff (Arlington, VA) notched 11 points.  Chris Gallivan (East Walpole, MA) handed out four assists for the Brewers, who shot a combined 46.3 percent (31-of-67) from the field.  Vassar went 12-for-29 (41.4 percent) from three-point land and 27-for-39 (69.2 percent) at the charity stripe.
 
New Rochelle built a six-point lead midway through the first half before Kyle Kappes (San Diego, CA) and Seff hit back-to-back treys to tie it at 21-21.  It was a 27-27 game when Seff and Grinde sank three-pointers on consecutive possessions to give the Brewers a 33-27 advantage with 3:26 left until halftime.  However, the Blue Angels responded with a 10-2 spurt over the next 2:09.  Grinde completed a traditional three-point play to put Vassar back in front, 38-37, with 1:04 remaining in the half, but New Rochelle scored five of the next seven points to take a 42-40 lead into the locker room.
 
A steal and three-point play by Justin Rivera increased the Blue Angels' cushion to five points early in the second half before Durham drained a pair of long balls to give Vassar back the lead, 46-45.  After another Durham three made it a seven-point game, 63-56, with 12:49 remaining, New Rochelle went on a 10-2 rally to reclaim a one-point advantage midway through the second half.
 
It was deadlocked at 72-72 when a Bromfeld layup sparked a 13-5 run that gave the Brewers an 85-77 advantage with 3:46 left.  New Rochelle trimmed its deficit to five, 91-86, but was called for three technical fouls in the final minute, and Vassar took advantage by making eight free throws down the stretch to close out the victory, its first season-opening win since the 2016-17 season.
 
"We were committed to sticking to our game plan," Mee said.  "That foundation helped us fight through and get the win.  It was a great team effort."
 
For New Rochelle, Hunter Schenkel led the way with 20 points and 11 rebounds.  Malcolm Hansford-Whyte added 15 points, and Kobe Telford contributed 13 points.  Justin Rivera had 10 points, while Elijah Harris distributed a team-best three assists to go along with nine points.  The Blue Angels shot 37.5 percent (27-of-72) from the floor, 22.7 percent (5-of-22) from long range, and 85.3 percent (29-of-34) at the free throw line.
 
On Saturday at 2 p.m., the Brewers will face Penn State Abington (1-1), an 85-77 winner over Misericordia (1-1) in the tournament championship game.  The consolation game between New Rochelle and Misericordia gets underway at 12 p.m.