ANNADALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. - The Vassar College Men's Basketball team took on the New Paltz Hawks in the Hudson Valley Classic on Friday evening as senior Avni Mustafaj's career-high 36 points carried the Brewers to an 85-76 victory at Bard College. Vassar moves to 2-1 on the season, whereas New Paltz drops to 1-2.
 
The game started out close, with neither team leading by more than six points for the first ten minutes of the first half, but Mustafaj would heat up for the Brewers, going 7-for-9 from the field to give him 18 points heading into the break as Vassar took a 16 point lead, 42-26.
 
Vassar controlled the first 20 minutes, shooting almost twice as good from the field as New Paltz at 50-percent (17-34) compared to the Hawks' 28.6 percent (8-28).
 
The Hawks would claw their way back into the game in the second half, whittling Vassar's double-digit lead down to eight with 13:22 left to play, lead by Rylan Blondo and RJ Meyers-Turner, who combined for 25 of New Paltz's 44 points up to that point.
 
Although the lead was cut to as low as six, the last ten minutes saw the Brewers grow back a sizable lead, going on an 11-4 run to go up 69-56 with 7:15 to go. From there the game slowed down, with half of the points scored by both teams in the last six minutes of the game coming off free throws. It was enough to give Vassar a comfortable victory, 85-76.
 
Mustafaj led the way for the Brewers with 36 points on 14-for-21 shooting, followed by senior Kevin McAuliffe, who scored 12 points off triples, going 4-for-8 from behind the arc. Senior Jack Rothenberg finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and a team-high seven assists while junior Case Parsons had six points, seven rebounds and three assists.
 
Blondo had 29 points for New Paltz, with 12 coming from the free throw line, where he only missed one attempt. Isaiah Bien-Aise and Meyers-Turner had 12 points each, and Dakoda Smith posted 6 rebounds.
 
Vassar shot 51.6 percent from the field compared to New Paltz's 44.4 percent, and had 44 points in the paint over the Hawks' 32. New Paltz held the edge in fast break points (11), bench points (29), and points off turnovers (18).
 
The Brewers continue play in the Hudson Valley Classic on Saturday when they host Mount Saint Mary College, scheduled for a 6:00 pm tipoff.