POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – Freshman Zach Johnson (San Francisco, CA) scored 13 second-half points to propel the Vassar men's basketball team over Union for the 60-55 victory on Friday evening. With the win, the Brewers remain in the playoff hunt at 10-12 overall and 6-9 in the Liberty League. Union slips to 12-9 and 9-6 in the conference following the loss.

The action was fairly even to start, with both sides struggling to find any rhythm. A three-pointer and a close-range jumper by junior Zach Bromfeld (Woodmere, NY) put the Brewers up 5-0. Union made it 8-6, but Johnson then scored the next five points to take a seven-point lead. Vassar pushed the lead to eight after Avni Mustafaj (Yonkers, NY) split free throws. Union's Rhona Eseyade answered with a layup, and then two triples from Mike Manley tied it 16-16 at 8:40.

The Dutchmen took their first lead after a trey by Kevin Jefferson, but Johnson made the layup the next possession. After two minutes of no scoring, freshman Jack Rothenberg (Yardley, PA) found senior Kyle Kappes (San Diego, CA) for a wide-open three. Union would tie it two more times before taking the lead for the remainder of the half. An 8-0 run put Union ahead 29-23, but two scores from Bromfeld cut the score to two before the half.

Neither side led by more than eight in the second half and threes from Kappes and Bromfeld put Vassar up 33-32 early. The Dutchmen did not allow the lead to grow though, rallying a 12-0 until the 8th minute to take their largest lead at 44-36. The Brewers regained composure, picking up layups by Mustafaj and Rothenberg.

A Union three-pointer put the Dutchmen ahead by seven, but Johnson went off with eight straight points to give Vassar a 48-47 lead at 5:33. With under a minute to play, Union once again pulled within one point. Mustafaj connected for both free throws, and then Johnson sealed the victory with a fastbreak layup in the final seconds.

Johnson matches his career-high with 20 points behind 8-of-14 shooting (.571 percent). He also added nine boards, five assists, and two steals. Bromfeld tacked on 14 points with seven rebounds, one assist, and one steal. Mustafaj netted nine points and had a career-best seven boards.

For Union, Manley led the team with 14 points, while Brian Noone had 13 with a team-high nine rebounds.

Vassar is back in action tomorrow for senior day. The Brewers host Hobart to the AFC for a 4 p.m. tip-off.