NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – Junior Ethan Ellis netted a career-high 23 points to lead the Vassar men's basketball team to its second straight win of the season on Friday evening. The Brewers (2-2) went on to down New Paltz (0-3) 77-73 on the opening night of the Hudson Valley Tournament and face Mount Saint Mary (N.Y.) tomorrow afternoon.
Junior Kevin McAuliffe got the Brewers rolling on a 6-0 run behind two consecutive three-pointers. The Hawks broke the streak when Rylan Blondo stole the ball and converted the layup to make it 6-2. A layup from New Paltz's Tyreik Frazier put the Hawks ahead one, and then the game went back-and-forth with neither side taking more than a four-point lead.
After another layup from Frazier, the Vassar lead was 14-13 at 8:37. Junior Jack Rothenberg drained a triple off an Ellis assist the following possession in putting Vassar ahead by four. The Brewers then scored the following six points behind layups from Zach Johnson and Avni Mustafaj to make it 23-10 at 5:08. The Hawks chipped their way back in, going on a 10-2 to cut the Vassar lead to 25-23. Then a three-pointer from New Paltz's Solomon Neuhaus gave the Hawks their second lead of the night, but Ellis answered right away with a three. Another triple from Neuhaus at 1:03 kept it a one-point game heading into the half.
Vassar opened the second half on an 8-0 run capped off by a Johnson layup at 16:40. The Brewers continued a solid inside presence, with Johnson and Rothenberg converting in the paint layups to push the lead to 42-33. A Zev Katz triple gave the Brewers a 12 point lead, and the team continued to make their advantage. Another layup from Johnson and then an Ellis three-pointer at 8:58 gave the Brewers a 56-40 lead. Then first-year Alan Cedeno netted his first-career points on a triple to provide Vassar with its largest lead at 64-47 with 6:29 remaining.
The Hawks battled back the final four minutes, hitting two-straight three-pointers to cut the Vassar lead to three with 48 seconds left. Johnson netted another inside basket to put Vassar up 75-70, but a three from RJ Meyers-Turners cut the lead to two. With under 20 seconds left, the Brewers were sent to the foul line, and senior Neville Lee and Ellis each made one to secure the win.
Ellis shot 5-for-8 from the field with three triples while shooting 10-of-12 for free throws. He also had a career-high eight rebounds. Johnson scored 19 points with a game-high 14 boards, while Rothenberg had 15 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists.
For the Hawks, Meyers-Turner led the team with 21 points, while Neuhaus and Blondo each had 12. Sean St. Lucia topped the group with eight rebounds.
Vassar plays the second game of the Hudson Valley Tournament tomorrow against Mount Saint Mary at 6 p.m. in Newburgh, NY.
