POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (February 9, 2018) – The Vassar men's basketball team lost at home on Friday night to the Tigers of Rochester Institute of Technology, 54-63.
 
A game that was deadlocked at 34-34 at halftime, saw the Tigers pull ahead in the second half to get the win. Paul Grinde led all scorers on the night with 17 points and added 13 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season. Jesse Browne added 11 points and four rebounds, while Alex Seff had 10 points and seven boards.
 
The Brewers shot 50% from the field in the first half including 3-6 from three-point range. But they went cold in the second stanza, shooting just 9-34 (26.47%).
 
Vassar started the game hot, jumping to a 16-7 lead at the 13:08 mark. Three-pointers from Lance Tebay and Browne sandwiched a Grinde layup that put the Brewers up by nine. VC held strong and stayed in front for the next 11 minutes until the Tigers tied the game at 27-27.
 
After Browne poured in another three, the Brewers were up five. But five straight points from Marcell Davis knotted the game before the halftime buzzer.
 
Tebay came out of halftime and slammed home a dunk for Vassar that erupted the crowd. Browne knocked down a trifecta on the next possession and the Brewers had reclaimed a five-point lead in just 21 seconds.
 
RIT fought back and tied the score on three different occasions. With 8:14 on the clock and the game knotted at 49-49, Wyatt Smith put the Tigers on up by two. It was a lead they would hold onto until the final whistle.
 
Robert Aguilera was the top RIT scorer with 13 points, he also grabbed 12 rebounded and added six rejections to his stat line.
 
The Brewers host RPI tomorrow for Senior Day at 4:00 p.m. in the AFC.