Middlebury, VT - Sophomore Shea Fitzgerald tied his career-high in points with 34 for the Vassar College Men's Basketball team but it wasn't enough as the Brewers fell to #RV Middlebury 99-87 in the second game of the Middlebury Invitational on Friday evening at Pepin Gymnasium. Vassar's record moves to 5-4 overall on the season while the Panthers improve to 7-3 overall.

First Half

• Both teams got off to a blistering start as sophomore Shea Fitzgerald's triple evened the game at seven just two and a half minutes into the contest.
• Middlebury went on a 15-5 run over the next four minutes behind five points from Sam Stevens and triples from Edward Witherington and Kuba Cwalina to take a 22-12 advantage.
• The Brewers whittled the lead down to two points at 22-20 following an 8-0 run on six points from Fitzgerald and a bucket from junior JP Miranda at the 11:27 mark.
• The Panthers rattled off a 19-5 run over a four minute and 45 second stretch as a driving lay-in from Stevens at the 6:42 mark pushed Middlebury ahead 41-25.
• A quick 7-2 spurt from Vassar behind buckets from sophomore Kreekor Karageuzian and junior Sacha Greenberg reduced the Middlebury advantage to 43-32 with 4:13 remaining in the half.
• Two free throws from sophomore Avery Lee and a layup from Fitzgerald cut the deficit to nine with 3:04 to go in the opening half until the Panthers closed the half with a 12-5 run as Witherington's triple put Middlebury ahead 57-41 at the half.
• VC ended the first half shooting 46.9-percent from the field but were limited to 2-for-11 from the three-point line while converting 9-for-11 from the free throw line.
• The Panthers closed the opening 20 minutes shooting a blistering 21-for-32 from the field, including an incredible 12-for-15 from three-point range, and connected on 3-for-4 from the free throw stripe.

Second Half

• A Fitzgerald three-pointer and a lay-in from junior Nathan Denham to open the second half trimmed the lead down to 11 before the Panthers responded with 11-4 run over the next three minutes as six points from Witherington and five from Tristan Joseph to go up 68-50.
• Middlebury extended the lead to 20 for the first time in the game as Cwalina's free throw put the Panthers ahead 73-53 at the 13:17 mark.
• Four consecutive triples from Greenberg helped Vassar cut the lead to 76-65 with 10 minutes remaining in the second half, leading to a Middlebury timeout.
• A three-pointer and two made free throws from Fitzgerald brought the Brewers back within single digits at 79-70 with eight and a half minutes left.
• Five quick points from Stevens put Middlebury ahead by 12 at the 6:48 mark until Lee connected on a three-pointer to bring Vassar within nine once again with six minutes to go in the contest.
• Lee's step back three-pointer reduced the advantage to 85-80 with just 4:44 left in the second half until David Brennan scored five consecutive points for the Panthers to extend the lead back to double digits at 90-80 with 3:39 remaining.
• The Brewers got within eight after a three from Fitzgerald and two free throws from Denham with 2:22 remaining in the game before back-to-back buckets from Stevens and Evan Flaks put Middlebury back ahead by double digits.
• VC finished the second half shooting 45.7-percent overall and connected on 9-for-17 from three and 5-for-6 from the free throw line.
• Middlebury cooled to 47.1-percent from the field, including just 3-for-11 from three-point distance, and 7-for-10 from the free throw stripe.

For The Brewers

• Fitzgerald poured in his career-high matching 34 points on 12-for-19 shooting (4-for-10 from three) along with three rebounds and two steals.
• Lee tallied 16 points, three assists and two steals while Greenberg posted 14 points off the bench.
• Denham recorded 11 points, a team-high six boards, three assists, two steals and two blocks.
• Karageuzian added seven points, two assists and three rebounds while senior Alex Walters registered three points, four rebounds and two steals.

For The Panthers

• Stevens registered a team-high 24 points, three boards and two assists along with Witherington posting a double-double with 23 points (9-for-10 from the field) and 11 rebounds.
• Joseph tallied 17 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals while Flaks recorded 14 points, a game-high seven assists and three rebounds.
• Brennan finished an all-around game with nine points, a game-high 14 rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block.

Game Statistics

• Vassar finished the game shooting 46.3-percent overall while going 11-for-28 from three-point range and 14-for-17 from the free throw line.
• Middlebury shot 56.1-percent from the field and connected on 15-for-26 from three-point distance and 10-for-14 from the free throw stripe.
• The Panthers held a 42-32 edge in points in the paint and 20-13 in points off turnovers.

Up Next

• Vassar will take on SUNY Cortland in the first game of the day tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 p.m.
• Middlebury will square off with Saint Joseph's (ME) for the tournament title at 5:00 p.m. tomorrow.