Box Score CHESTER, PA - The Vassar College men's basketball team kicked-off its 2022-23 season on Friday, playing Stevens Institute of Technology in game one of the Widener Tip-Off Tournament. The Brewers recorded a 63-59 victory over the Ducks.
After trailing by a one-point (34-33) deficit at halftime, the Brewers came out strong, tying the contest at 43-all at 12:33 on a three-pointer from senior guard
Jack Rothenberg. A layup and one from junior forward
Case Parsons tipped the score in Vassar's favor by a 46-43 margin.
Stevens battled back as a jumper from Jack Spellman, combined with a three-pointer from Jack Liedtka gave the Ducks a 48-46 lead, but the Brewers answered quickly as senior guard
Ethan Ellis drained a three of his own to push the margin back in Vassar's favor (49-48) with 9:47 to play.
It was a back-and-forth battle with neither team leading by more than one over the next few minutes, the gap finally widened as Parsons nailed a jumper, while Ellis sank a pair of free throws for a 55-50 lead at 7:57.
Stevens' Mike Goodall dropped in a three, but the Brewers answered once again as senior guard
Zev Katz posted a three as well for the 58-53 lead with 5:35 left on the clock. Back-to-back buckets from Goodall closed the gap to 58-57 and a late layup from Spellman once again saw the game down to one point (60-59) with 20 seconds to play. The Brewers closed it out with three straight free throw makes from Rothenberg for the win.
Vassar was paced by senior captain
Avni Mustafaj, who dropped in 16 points with six rebounds and two assists with a steal. Ellis had 10 points with four rebounds with an assist and a steal, while Rothenberg just missed a double-double with nine points and a game-high 10 boards to go along with a team-high five assists and a game-best two steals.
For the Ducks, Goodall had 16 points with four rebounds, two assists and a steal. Conor Coffey added 12 points with four rebounds and a game-best six assists, while Spellman had 10 points, four rebounds and an assist.
The Brewers went 20-47 (42.6%) from the floor, posting a 15-19 (78.9%) margin from the free throw line.
Vassar is back in action on Saturday, facing host Widener in the championship game. Tip-off is slated for 4pm.
