POUGHKEEPSIE, NY - The Vassar College Men's Basketball team used a late second half surge to earn its first conference victory of the season in a 64-61 triumph over Skidmore on Wednesday evening at the Athletics and Fitness Center. First year Shea Fitzgerald tallied a team-high 17 points to push Vassar to 3-5 overall and 1-2 in the Liberty League while the Thoroughbreds drop to 2-6 overall and 0-3 in conference action.

FIRST HALF

• Vassar took an early 14-8 lead in the opening seven minutes as junior Luke Adams knocked down a three-pointer along with four points from senior Case Parsons.
• The lead grew to as many as eight on a layup from first year Kreekor Karageuzian before the Thoroughbreds rattled off 11 straight points and took a 19-16 lead on a triple from Joey Skoric.
• Following a triple from senior Logan Scott that cut the lead down to one with 6:10 remaining, Skidmore extended its lead to 11 points on triples from Dillon McCafferty and Skoric with 3:12 to go.
• Vassar closed the half on a 9-2 run to cut the halftime deficit to six points on a bucket from first year Avery Lee.
• The Brewers closed the first half shooting 32.3-percent from the field and converted on four three-pointers while the Thoroughbreds shot 42.9-percent overall and knocked down 7-of-12 triples.

SECOND HALF

• Skidmore's lead ballooned to 13 points on a bucket from Jack LaGarde with 13:40 to go in the half as the Thoroughbreds kept the lead in double digits throughout the first 10 minutes of the half.
• Vassar countered with a 9-2 run over the next four minutes as six points from Lee and a three-pointer from Adams cut the lead down to four with 6:46 remaining.
• Two free throws from Adams brought Vassar all the way back to tie it at 58 apiece with 4:23 left in the contest.
• The Thoroughbreds took the lead at 61-60 on a three-pointer from Alexei Downie with 1:24 to go before Adams' bucket in the paint put the Brewers ahead with just over a minute to go.
• Skidmore did not get a shot off in the final minute as two free throws from Fitzgerald sealed the first conference victory for Vassar.
• Vassar concluded the second half shooting 41.4-percent overall and made two triples while Skidmore was held to 38.7-percent and converted on two three-pointers.

FOR THE BREWERS

• Fitzgerald scored a team-high 17 points on 6-for-14 from the field while Adams added 12 points and nine rebounds.
• Scott finished the night with seven points, four boards, three assists, three steals and two blocks in an all-around effort.
• Lee added eight points and two steals off the bench and Karageuzian tallied four points, three assists and five rebounds.

FOR THE THOROUGHBREDS

• Downie cashed in a game-high 21 points on 8-for-12 shooting along with six rebounds and three assists.
• Skoric tallied nine points and seven boards while LaGarde recorded eight points, nine rebounds and two blocks.
• Aidan Roy finished with six points, six boards and three assists while Padilla added seven points and five boards off the bench.

GAME STATS

• The Brewers finished the night shooting 36.7-percent overall while converting on six threes and knocked down 14 free throws. Skidmore shot 40.7-percent from the field and made nine triples but only shot 4-for-8 from the free throw line.
• Vassar held a 21-12 edge in points off turnovers and 30-26 in points in the paint.
• Skidmore held a slim advantage in second chance points at 10-8.

UP NEXT

• The Brewers are off until December 29th when they take on The College of New Jersey in the WestConn Holiday Tournament at 1:00 p.m. in Danbury.
• Skidmore travels to Middlebury on Friday evening for a 7:30 p.m. non-conference matchup