Poughkeepsie, NY - Junior Avery Lee recorded a team-high 21 points along with four other Brewers posting double-digit points to lift the Vassar College Men's Basketball team to an 88-85 victory over Ithaca in the Liberty League opener on Friday evening at the Athletics and Fitness Center. The Brewers improve to 5-1 overall and 1-0 in conference action while the Bombers fall to 1-5 on the season and 0-1 in league play.

First Half

• Vassar opened the contest with an 8-3 lead over the first four minutes behind four points from Lee and a bucket each from senior Nathan Denham and sophomore Parker Neuenhaus.
• Ithaca went on a 10-0 run over the next two minutes to go ahead 13-8 on a triple from Matthew Zenker.
• The Bombers lead expanded to 20-11 with 10:13 remaining on a jumper from Jose Padilla until Vassar answered 20-6 run to pull ahead 31-26 with 4:10 to go on a Neuenhaus lay-in.
• Ithaca scored the next six points to take a 32-31 lead on four straight points from Evan Cabral with 3:09 remaining.
• Following two free throws from Thomas McKiernan to put the Bombers ahead 36-34, VC closed the half on a 7-2 run, behind five points from senior Sacha Greenberg, to hold a 41-38 lead heading into halftime.
• The Brewers finished the opening 20 minutes shooting 50-percent overall, including 4-for-9 from three, and 7-for-10 from the free throw line.
• Ithaca ended the first half shooting 37.5-percent from the field while going 4-for-15 from three-point range and 10-for-14 from the free throw line.

Second Half

• The two squads traded buckets to open the second half as two big dunks from Denham put Vassar ahead 58-52 with 13:01 left in regulation.
• VC expanded the lead to 63-54 on a triple from junior Sebastin Medina with 11:25 remaining in the second half.
• The Bombers battled back to even the game at 65 on a lay-in from Alex Penders with 8:47 to go in the game.
• Vassar used six points from Medina along with a bucket each from Denham and Lee to push ahead 78-72.
• Once again, the Bombers evened the game at 80 on a three-pointer from Zenker with just 2:47 left in regulation.
• Four more points from Medina and a jumper from junior Shea Fitzgerald helped VC take a four-point lead with three seconds left.
• Three made free throws from Jaylon O'Neal cut the deficit to one with 0.7 seconds remaining in the game.
• Fitzgerald made two free throws in the final second to give the Brewers its conference opening victory.
• Vassar finished the second half shooting 50-percent from the field while going just 2-for-6 from three but converting 11-for-14 from the free throw line.
• Ithaca improved to 47.4-percent overall in the second half and finished 5-for-18 from three and 6-for-8 from the free throw line.

For The Brewers

• Lee led the way with 21 points (8-for-13 FG) along with seven assists, four rebounds and four steals.
• Denham tallied 15 points (7-for-9 FG), six boards, two blocks and two steals along with Fitzgerald adding 14 points and four rebounds.
• Medina posted 13 points, seven boards and four assists off the bench while Neuenhaus garnered 12 points and five rebounds.
• Greenberg chipped in eight points and two rebounds off the bench and junior Kreekor Karageuzian registered three points, three assists, three rebounds and two steals.

For The Bombers

• Cabral recorded a game-high 27 points (12-for-16 FG), eight rebounds, four steals and three assists while O'Neal added 18 points, six rebounds and four assists.
• Penders tallied 11 points and seven boards along with Zenker posting 11 points.
• David Luberoff chipped in six points and eight rebounds off the bench while McKiernan and Padilla each recorded five points.

Game Statistics

• Vassar closed the game shooting an even 50-percent from the field while connecting on 6-for-15 from three-point range and 18-for-24 from the free throw line.
• Ithaca finished at 42.9-percent overall on the night along with shooting 9-for-33 from three-point distance and 16-for-22 from the free throw stripe.
• VC held a 16-14 advantage in points off turnovers along with 42-38 in points in the paint.
• The Brewers also earned a 14-7 edge in fast break points while Ithaca held a 13-10 advantage in second chance points.

Up Next

• Vassar continues its three game homestand tomorrow afternoon against Hobart at 4:00 p.m. at the Athletics and Fitness Center.
• Ithaca travels to Skidmore tomorrow for a 2:00 p.m. tip-off.