TROY, N.Y. – It was a historic afternoon on Sunday as the Vassar men's basketball team powted a 65-48 victory over Skidmore to capture its first-ever Liberty League Championship title. Powered by an outstanding performance from Tournament Most Outstanding Player, Jack Rothenberg (Yardley, PA), the Brewers have earned the league's Automatic Qualifying bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the first appearance in school history.
Junior Kevin McAuliffe (Bethesda, MD) got the Brewers rolling against the Thoroughbreds as Vassar went on a 7-0 run, as he nailed a three-pointer in the opening minute. Rothenberg and junior Zach Johnson (San Francisco, CA) added two quick layups before Skidmore's Ty Lamport broke the streak at 17:40. Vassar held the lead until Riley Greene drained a three to tie 17-17 at 9:08.
After a two-minute scoring drought, junior Avni Mustafaj (Yonkers, NY) passed to Ethan Ellis (Silver Spring, MD) for an open triple to begin a 9-0 run for the Brewers that ran until 4:19 remaining. Vassar would never relinquish the lead for the remainder of the half, and layup by McAuliffe and a trey from Zev Katz (Philadelphia, PA), which put the Brewers up 31-22. Before the half, Rothenberg netted one more basket, and Vassar took an 11-point lead into the break.
The Thoroughbreds opened the second half on a 6-0 run within the first two minutes. Riley Greene cut the lead to three, scoring on a mid-range jumper. Vassar struggled from the field, going 0-for-7 to start, and did not score until Mustafaj netted an inside layup through contact to make it 35-30 with 15:49 to go. A spin move led to a mid-range jumper from Rothenberg, and then Johnson scored inside to give Vassar the 39-30 lead.
Skidmore's Harrison Eichelberger drove and scored to keep the Vassar lead in single digits, but the Skidmore defense backed off on Ellis, who took advantage and drilled a three-point shot from the top of the arc to put the Brewers up by 11. Vassar slowly built its lead as Rothenberg netted five-straight points. A Mustafaj jumper at 10:28 gave the Brewers a 17-point lead. Greg Skoric got Skidmore on the board again, scoring on a jump hook to make it 51-36.
Vassar scored the next two baskets, but the Thoroughbreds responded with an 8-0 run until 5:22 to cut the lead back to 11. At 4:11, Johnson bodied his way through the Skidmore defense to grab his rebound and tip the shot back in. Vassar controlled the ball in the final minutes, and Mustafaj drove inside and passed back to Ellis for the three-pointer. To give Vassar a 64-48 lead, Ellis drilled it from the top.
Rothenberg had a dominant day, leading the Brewers with a game-high 16 points and game-best 16 rebounds with two assists. Johnson also had a double-double of 15 points and 11 board to go with a block and three assists, while Mustafaj had 12 points, five rebounds, three assists and a steal. Ellis completed the solid day for the Brewers, recording 11 points with a game-high two steals.
Skoric led the Thoroughbreds in the contest, posting a game-best 16 points with nine rebounds and a steal. Greene added 12 points with four boards and a game-high four assists, while Tautvydas Kupstas added eight points, five boards, an assist and a steal.
Vassar will now wait to learn who its opponent will be for the NCAA Division III Tournament. The selection show will be tomorrow at 12:30p.m.
