POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – Junior Zach Bromfeld (Woodmere, NY) netted 19 points and grabbed a career-high 19 boards, but the Vassar men's basketball team was unable to prevent a Tigers' comeback, falling 77-73 on Saturday evening. RIT now moves to 4-2 overall and 1-0 in the Liberty League, while Vassar drops to 2-3 and 0-1 in the conference.

The Brewers erupted to a 15-2 lead midway through the first half and held the Tigers scoreless for five minutes after their first basket. At 11:32, Bromfeld sank a triple from the top of the arc to push the lead to 18-4. Bromfeld scored in the next possession. Then freshman Ethan Ellis (Silver Spring, MD) netted an inside layup after a Kevin McCauliffe (Bethesda, MD) steal to take an 18-point lead.

The Tigers chipped their way back in, pulling within single digits following a triple from Keegan Ocorr at 4:03. Vassar responded when Jack Rothenberg (Yardley, PA) netted a layup off the Avni Mustafaj (Yonkers, NY) feed and then went up 33-21 when McAuliffe drained a trey. A 7-0 Tigers' run in the final two minutes of the half cut the Vassar lead to five, but Joey Sacco (Ocean City, NJ) tallied a buzzer-beater tip-in to make it 35-28 at the half.

RIT came out shooting hot in the second act, going 15-of-28 (53.6 percent) from the field and 6-of-13 (46.2 percent) for three-pointers. The Brewers defense managed to fend off the Tigers at first. Still, RIT eventually took their first lead at 11:44 when Ocorr knocked down another three. The score remained within three points over the next few minutes until Bromfeld put Vassar up 55-54 following his layup.

The action remained close, but another Ocorr triple gave RIT a 61-58 advantage, and the Tigers never gave up the lead following that. RIT stayed up 71-66 with under a minute to play, and the Brewers were forced to intentionally foul. The Tigers shot 6-of-10 for three throws down the stretch to secure the win.

Bromfeld recorded his third double-double of the season. Freshman Zach Johnson (San Francisco, CA) matches his season-high with 14 points and also grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds. Mustafaj netted 13 points and season-best six assists, while McAuliffe had a career-best nine points with three-made triples. Ellis and Sacco both had eight points, with Sacco's point total being his most this season.       

For RIT, Ocorr recorded 24 points behind 6-of-9 shooting, while Cobey Abekanbi had 10 points. Michael Young tallied a team-high seven rebounds.

Vassar is back in action tomorrow when they host Ithaca in Liberty League play at 4 p.m. in the AFC.