Troy, NY - The Vassar College Men's Basketball started out strong and never looked back against conference-leading RPI on Saturday as the Brewers completed the season sweep of the Engineers with a 66-48 victory in the final road regular season contest of the season. With the victory, Vassar moves into a tie for first place with RPI in the Liberty League standings heading into the final conference weekend.

Vassar's record improves to 16-7 overall and 12-4 in conference play, which sets a new program record for regular season conference victories,  while the Engineers drop to 18-5 on the season and 12-4 in Liberty League action. Vassar now holds the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Engineers after sweeping the regular season series.

First Half

• Vassar raced out to a 11-2 lead to open the contest as sophomore Avery Lee and junior Nathan Denham combined for nine of the first 11 points.
• Junior JP Miranda's layup at the 12:54 mark put the Brewers ahead by double digits at 16-6.
• VC's advantage expanded to 16 points on a Lee jumper with eight and a half minutes remaining in the first half.
• A 9-0 run from RPI got the Engineers within 29-22 on a three-pointer from Chuck Clemons with 2:52 left in the half.
• RPI got the Vassar lead down to six on a Dylan Matchett triple with 37 seconds left before sophomore Shea Fitzgerald drilled a three-pointer before the end of the half to take a 35-26 halftime lead.
• The Brewers ended the first 20 minutes shooting 46.4-percent overall and connected on 5-for-11 from the three-point line.
• RPI shot 45-percent from the field in the first half and went just 2-for-8 from three-point territory.

Second Half

• Vassar pushed its lead up to 16 points following a 9-2 run to start the half as sophomore Sebastian Medina and senior Luke Adams each connected on a three-pointer.
• The Engineers cut the lead down to 11 on a layup from Andrew Deppe at the 13:58 mark until the Brewers expanded the lead back to 16 on two free throws from junior Sacha Greenberg.
• Two free throws from Denham nudged the advantage up to 18 points with 8:08 to go.
• RPI could only get as close as 13 points in the final eight minutes on a free throw from Deppe.
• Five straight points from Lee along with a Fitzgerald three-pointer put Vassar ahead by a game-high 21 points with 1:50 left in regulation.
• Vassar cooled to 36-percent in the second half but knocked down 5-of-10 three-pointers and went 8-for-10 from the free throw line.
• RPI was limited to 31.8-percent from the field in the final 20 minutes and went just 1-for-8 beyond the three-point line.

For The Brewers

• Fitzgerald scored a game-high 18 points (5-for-10 from three) along with four rebounds, three steals and two assists.
• Lee added 15 points, a team-high seven assists, and three boards while Denham tallied eight points, four boards and two blocks.
• Sophomore Kreekor Karageuzian secured eight points and six rebounds along with Medina registered seven points and seven rebounds.

For The Engineers

• Deppe tallied a team-high 14 points while PJ Scalisi recorded 12 points and six rebounds.
• Matchett added six points and six boards along with Avery Eugster chipping in six assists, seven rebounds and three steals.

Game Statistics

• Vassar finished the afternoon shooting 41.5-percent from the field along with knocking down 10-for-21 from three and 12-for-15 from the free throw line.
• RPI closed the game shooting 38.1-percent overall and was 3-for-16 from three-point range and 13-for-23 from the free throw stripe.
• The Brewers held a slim 9-8 advantage in points off turnovers and 10-8 in second chance points.
• RPI earned a 24-18 edge in points in the paint.

Up Next

• Vassar closes the regular season at home next weekend with Hobart and Ithaca at AFC Gymnasium. The matchup with the Statesmen on Friday will tip-off at 7:30 p.m.
• The Engineers return home on Friday to take on Clarkson.