Middlebury, VT - Sophomore Shea Fitzgerald matched his career-high with 34 points for the second straight contest and earned All-Tournament Team honors as the Vassar College Men's Basketball team triumphed over Cortland 89-75 in the second game of the Middlebury Invitational on Saturday afternoon. The win pushes Vassar to 6-4 overall while the Red Dragons drop to 2-7 on the season.

First Half

• Vassar raced out to a 7-0 lead in the opening minutes as Fitzgerald scored the first five points followed by a lay-in from junior Nathan Denham.
• Cortland answered with a 16-3 run to take a 16-10 lead with 12:10 remaining in the opening half as Kendall Arcuri led the way with seven points.
• Joel Davis' lay-in with 9:35 remaining kept the Red Dragons ahead by five before the Brewers battled back to take a one point lead on a triple from senior Alex Walters at the 8:05 mark.
• Two free throws from Jaylen Warmack evened the game at 32 with 3:47 remaining in the opening half.
• The Brewers closed the half on a 7-2 run as sophomore Avery Lee's jumper at the horn put Vassar ahead 39-34.
• VC finished the opening half shooting 55.2-percent overall while going 3-for-9 from three and 4-for-6 from the free throw line.
• Cortland ended the first half shooting 45.2-percent from the field and went just 1-for-10 from three and 5-for-8 from the free throw stripe.

Second Half

• The Brewers opened the second half on a 16-2 run as five different Brewers scored a bucket with a three-pointer from Walters put Vassar ahead 55-38 with 14:18 left in the half.
• Vassar's lead stayed as high as 16 throughout the middle stages of the half as a free throw from Denham and a lay-in from junior JP Miranda extended the lead to 62-46 with 10:49 remaining.
• Cortland battled back to get within eight on a triple from Gaige Armbrewster at the 7:16 mark before the Brewers used a lay-in from sophomore Sebastian Medina to push the advantage back to 12 at the 6:31 mark.
• The Red Dragons could only get as close as 10 on another triple from Armbrewster with 3:52 remaining.
• Vassar's lead grew to as many as 14 in the final minutes as two free throws from Fitzgerald put the Brewers ahead 83-69 with just under two minutes remaining.
• Back-to-back jumpers from junior Sacha Greenberg in the final minute for Vassar as the Brewers posted its sixth victory of the season.
• VC closed the second half shooting 57.1-percent overall while shooting 2-for-6 from three and 16-for-18 from the free throw line.
• The Red Dragons finished the second 20 minutes shooting 44.8-percent from the field, including 6-for-11 from three, and 9-for-13 from the free throw line.

For The Brewers

• Fitzgerald scored 34 points for the second straight outing on 8-for-15 shooting and connected on 16-for-17 from the free throw line. He also increased his conference-leading points per game average to 23.3 and ranks in the top-20 nationally.
• Lee tallied 15 points, two assists and two boards while sophomore Kreekor Karageuzian posted six points, seven boards and two assists.
• Denham recorded five points and a team-high seven rebounds along with Medina supplying six points, six rebounds, three blocks and two helpers.

For The Red Dragons

• Davis led the way with 19 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two steals off the bench.
• Arcuri added 14 points, three boards, two assists and two steals along with Armbrewster recording 12 points.

Game Statistics

• Vassar finished the game shooting 56.1-percent overall, 5-for-15 from three and 20-for-24 from the free throw line.
• Cortland ended the contest shooting 45-percent from the field along with 7-for-21 from bonus distance and 14-for-21 from free throw range.
• The Brewers held a strong 46-26 edge in points in the paint while also holding a 13-8 advantage in points off turnovers.

Up Next

• Vassar returns to conference play against St. Lawrence on Friday, January 10 at 7:30 p.m.
• Corland returns to SUNYAC action against Fredonia on Tuesday, January 7 at 6:00 p.m.