SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – It was a battle of runs on Tuesday evening, but the Vassar men's basketball team could not hold on and fell 79-65 to Union. The loss snaps a nine-game winning streak, and the Brewers suffer their first Liberty League defeat as Vassar moves to 9-3 overall and 5-1 in the conference. Meanwhile, the Dutchmen move to 6-5 overall with a 3-2 mark in conference play.
Vassar rolled out of the gates with a 12-0 start to begin the first half, with junior Ethan Ellis (Silver Spring, MD) draining two three-pointers in the opening four minutes. Union finally broke the run when Temi George made a layup at 16:25. Junior Avni Mustafaj (Yonkers, NY) then scored to spur a 6-0 Vassar span.
The Brewers kept pushing the lead when Ellis scored again at 13:34 to make it 20-6. Junior Zev Katz (Philadelphia, PA) gave the Brewers a 15-point lead following a triple, but the Dutchmen slowly fought back. After some traded baskets, Union's Brian Noone sank a trey, and then George dunked to cut the lead to eight at 6:46. Two quick scores from Mustafaj and Jack Rothenberg (Yardley, PA) put the score back at double digits, but Union capitalized on some free throws to keep the game within striking distance.
At 3:50, junior Rayan El Amine (Beirut, Lebanon) scored a layup off an Alan Cedeno (Cape Coral, FL) pass to give Vassar a 36-25 advantage. The Dutchmen completely flipped the script in the final three minutes, using a 16-2 run until the last second to take the lead at 41-38 at halftime.
The game remained in single digits, and junior Zach Johnson (San Francisco, CA) cut the Union lead to 44-47 after converting a layup. Made baskets from Brain Noone and Mike Caporale forced a Vassar time as the score stood at 51-44 at the 13:29 mark. Johnson then put back an offensive board to make it a five-point contest, but Mike Manley answered right away with a three-pointer.
Mustafaj got the Brewers moving once again when he scored five-straight points to put the score at 53-56 with 11 minutes remaining. Union continued to hold a steady lead and a mid-range jumper by Mustafaj at 4:58 made it 57-67. Afterward, the Brewers scored twice in the final three minutes as the Dutchmen held on for the 79-65 win.
Mustafaj matched his career-high points with 24 on 8-of-17 shooting. Johnson recorded ten points and ten rebounds, while Ellis scored ten points with two three-pointers. Rothenberg led the team with 11 boards.
For the Dutchmen, Noone scored a game-high 26 points, and Manley added 20. George led the team with six rebounds.
Vassar is on the road again on Fri. Jan. 14, when they travel to face Skidmore at 7:30 p.m.
