UTICA, N.Y. – The Vassar College men's basketball team (5-5) defeated the host Pioneers (6-3) by a 92-88 count at Clark Gymnasium on Sunday afternoon to win the Utica College Basketball Classic. A four-point play by
Hugh Durham (Savannah, GA) with 14 seconds left sealed the victory, as the Brewers notched back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
Vassar took control of the game early on, getting three-pointers from
Alex Seff (Arlington, VA) and
Paul Grinde (Virginia Beach, VA) on its first two possessions and opening up a 20-4 advantage barely five minutes in. Utica responded with an 8-2 spurt to cut its deficit to 22-12 before the Brewers used an 18-8 run to take their largest lead of the game, a 40-20 cushion with 7:15 left in the first half.
Utica pulled within 13 points, 52-39, at intermission, the scored the first seven points of the second half to trim the margin to six, 52-46. Vassar regained a 12-point edge, 60-48, but the Pioneers countered with a 17-5 run to tie the score at 65-65 with 10:50 remaining. After the teams traded threes, the Brewers went in front for good on a Seff trey at the 9:56 mark. That started a 10-2 rally, and
Lance Tebay's (Virginia Beach, VA) triple with 7:10 left made it a 78-70 game.
However, the Pioneers again rallied back, getting within two at 86-84 on Shawn Gashi's layup with 41 seconds to go. After a timeout, Vassar ran the clock all the way down, and Grinde found an open Durham for a trey with the shot clock winding down at the 14-second mark. He was fouled on the play and made the free throw, increasing the Brewers' cushion to six, 90-84. Seff then sank a pair at the line to cap off the 92-88 win.
Seff and Grinde combined for 48 points and eight assists in the victory. Seff had 27 points and three assists, while Grinde finished with 21 points, nine rebounds and five assists. It marked the second time this season that two Brewers tallied 20 points in the same game.
Zach Bromfeld (Woodmere, NY) (28) and Grinde (20) both reached the 20-point mark against Penn State Abington on Nov. 17.
Bromfeld and
Kyle Kappes (San Diego, CA) each notched eight points off the bench, and Durham grabbed five boards to go along with his seven points. Vassar shot 57.1 percent (32-of-56) from the field, 46.4 percent (13-of-28) from long range, and 78.9 percent (15-of-19) at the charity stripe.
Gashi paced the Pioneers with 28 points. Avery Coston added 21 points and eight rebounds, as each team corralled 31 boards. Justin Strielkauskas finished with 12 points and three assists, and Kobe Lufkin tallied 11 points. Kimedrick Murphy, meanwhile, secured six rebounds. As a team, Utica shot 50 percent (34-of-68) from the floor, 41.7 percent (10-of-24) from three-point land, and 71.4 percent (10-of-14) at the free throw line.
Sunday's contest was Vassar's final non-conference game of the season. The Brewers (1-2 Liberty) resume Liberty League play on Friday, when they visit Clarkson (1-9, 0-3 Liberty) at 7 p.m.
