ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Vassar men's basketball team (1-1) bounced back from a season-opener loss by defeating Hunter (0-3) 72-66 in the Mike Daley Tournament consolation game on Saturday afternoon. The Brewers never trailed in the second half, holding off a late Hawks' comeback attempt.
 
Leading the way for Vassar junior Zach Bromfeld (Woodmere, NY), who recored a double-double behind 16 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman Avni Mustafaj (Yonkers, NY) netted 16 points behind 6-of-10 shooting. Freshman forward Zach Johnson (San Francisco, CA) scored in double digits for the second time, scoring 14 points and grabbing nine boards. Senior guard Kyle Kappes (San Diego, CA) tacked on eight points, while junior Lance Tebay (Virginia Beach, VA) added five points, seven rebounds, and three assists.
 
Hunter's George Keener led all scorers with 27 points, while Jonah Bevacqua had 16. Luka Jakic led the Hawks with six rebounds.
 
After the game was tied 8-8, Hunter looked to pull away scoring four unanswered to take a 12-8 lead. Both sides traded baskets until a three-pointer from freshman Ethan Ellis (Silver Spring, MD) cut the lead to two. Tebay would connect on a pair of free throws soon after to make it 15-16. Hunter would split their following free throws, and then Johnson tied it 17-17 with under six to play in the half.
 
The teams would go back-and-forth in free throws for the next few minutes, and four straight points from Bromfeld gave the Brewers a lead they would not give up for the remainder of the afternoon. Senior David Stevenson closed the half with an and-one play to put Vassar up 32-26.
 
Hunter would attempt to reel the Brewers in in the second half, but Vassar kept pulled away. A dunk from Tebay spurred a 7-0 run and increased the lead to 41-30. A layup from Mustafaj at 10:48 gave Vassar their largest lead at 12, but the Hawks pulled within four in the final 24 seconds. Junior Hugh Durham (Savannah, GA) was fouled the next two possessions, but made two free throws to seal the victory.
 
The Brewers begin a five-game home stand next beginning with Hartwick on Sat. Nov. 23 at 2 p.m. in the Athletics and Fitness Center.