POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – The Vassar College men's basketball team (7-9, 3-6 Liberty) dropped a hard-fought 65-60 decision to two-time defending Liberty League champion Union (7-7, 3-5 Liberty) at the Athletic & Fitness Center on Friday night.  Paul Grinde (Virginia Beach, VA) matched his season-high with 24 points in the loss, which snapped the Brewers' two-game winning streak.
 
Grinde scored Vassar's first 12 points, and the Brewers held a 12-5 lead after just four minutes.  A three-pointer by Alex Seff (Arlington, VA) made it 18-9 with 12:45 left in the first half before Union responded with an 8-0 run to pull within one.  After Zach Bromfeld's (Woodmere, NY) jumper at the 9:30 mark pushed Vassar's cushion back to three points, 20-17, the Dutchmen rattled off 10 straight points to go up 27-20.
 
Union led 34-29 at the break, but the Brewers started the second half on a 6-2 spurt to trim its deficit to one, 36-35.  Vassar eventually went in front, 44-43, when Bromfeld converted a traditional three-point play with 10:10 remaining.  Bromfeld then hit a jumper on the Brewers' next possession to make it a three-point game before the Dutchmen got a trey from Kevin Jefferson to knot the score at 46-46 with 9:22 left.
 
Vassar regained the lead on a Grinde layup, but Jackson Mannix sank a three-pointer on the other end to spark a 12-2 Union run that gave the Dutchmen a 58-50 advantage with 2:22 to go.  A Seff trey brought the Brewers within four, 61-57, at the 33-second mark, then, after Kevin Jefferson drained a pair at the line, Lance Tebay (Virginia Beach, VA) sank a trey to make it 63-60 with 12 seconds left.  Jefferson was immediately fouled again, and his two free throws accounted for the final points in Union's 65-60 victory.
 
In addition to pouring in 24 points, Grinde paced the Brewers with seven rebounds.  Tebay posted 14 points, and Bromfeld had nine points off the bench.  Chris Gallivan (East Walpole, MA) grabbed six rebounds, while Mason Dyslin (Yorktown Heights, NY) registered five boards and four assists.  Vassar went 23-for-60 (38.3 percent) from the floor, 7-for-19 (36.8 percent) from three-point land, and 7-for-9 (77.8 percent) at the charity stripe.
 
Four Dutchmen reached double-figures in the scoring column, led by Kevin McNoble's 15 points.  He also had six assists and five steals.  Mike Concannon tallied with 13 points, while Mannix contributed 11 points and eight rebounds.  Jefferson finished with 10 points, and Andrew Laub pulled down seven boards, as Union held a 38-34 edge on the glass.  The Dutchmen shot 40 percent (22-of-55) from the field, 37 percent (10-of-27) from long range, and 84.6 percent (11-of-13) at the line.
 
On Saturday, the Brewers continue their seven-game homestand with a 4 p.m. matchup against Bard (8-7, 4-4 Liberty).