Annandale-on-Hudson, NY - Junior Sacha Greenberg drilled a game-winning three-pointer with one second left in overtime to send the Vassar College Men's Basketball team to its fifth straight victory in a 81-78 overtime thriller against Bard on the road on Friday night. Senior Alex Walters also poured in a career-high 21 points on seven made three-pointers along with sophomore Shea Fitzgerald scoring 20 points in the second half and overtime period to push the Brewers to its 10th conference victory.

Friday's victory is the fifth in a row for the Brewers as Vassar's record improves to 14-6 overall and 10-3 in conference play, which puts Vassar tied with RPI for the top spot in the Liberty League. Bard falls to 10-10 on the season and 5-8 in Liberty League play.

First Half

• Rowan Heinze scored the first four points to put Bard ahead 4-0 early before Walters and sophomore Avery Lee combined for three triples to put VC ahead 9-4.
• A three-pointer from Lazaros Panagiotounis put the Raptors within one at 12-11 with 10:10 remaining.
• VC reeled off a 10-2 run behind a three-pointer from Fitzgerald and seven more points from Walters to extend the Brewers lead to 22-13 at the 7:55 mark.
• A dunk from Walters with 5:58 remaining pushed the Vassar lead back to nine points until Bard closed the half on a 9-2 run to get within two at 29-27.
• Vassar was limited to just 28.1-percent shooting overall but connected on 7-of-17 from the three-point line and was led by a career-high 18 points from Walters in the opening 20 minutes.
• Bard finished the opening half shooting 36.7-percent from the field and was only 3-for-13 from behind the three-point stripe.

Second Half

• The Raptors drew even at 31 all on a four-point play from Panagiotounis early in the second half before a Fitzgerald lay-in pushed the Brewers back ahead by four.
• Bard rattled off a 12-2 run behind six points from Panagiotounis and four from Heinze to take a 44-39 lead at the 12:45 mark.
• VC got back within a point following a trey from Lee and a bucket from sophomore Sebastian Medina to cut it to 46-45.
• Bard scored the next seven points from Panagiotounis and Heinze to extend its lead to a game-high eight points with just under 10 minutes remaining.
• The Brewers went on a quick 12-0 run with one more Walters three-pointer pushing VC ahead 57-53 with 6:49 to go in regulation.
• A layup from Sean Wilcox along with two free throws from Azriel Almodovar put Bard on top 66-65 at the 1:48 mark.
• Lee's jumper with 57 seconds left put VC ahead by a point until Panagiotounis split a pair of free throws with 10 seconds remaining to send the game in overtime.
• Vassar shot an even 50-percent from the field, including 5-for-9 from three-point distance and 7-for-8 from the free throw stripe.
• Bard closed the second half at 43.8-percent shooting overall while going 2-for-9 from three but connecting on 12-for-16 from the free throw line.

Overtime

• Vassar scored the first seven points of overtime behind five points from Fitzgerald and a bucket from Lee to force a Bard timeout with 3:17 to go.
• Bard answered with a 9-2 run, led by a Wilcox three, a Heinze lay-in and four points from Almodovar, to tie the game at 78 at the 18 second mark.
• On the Brewers final possession, Lee drove to his right and kicked it to Greenberg in the right corner for an open three with one second left to put the Brewers back on top.
• Bard got a half court heave off before the buzzer but the shot fell short as Vassar earned its fifth straight victory and its 10th Liberty League win.

For The Brewers

• Fitzgerald tallied a team-high 23 points (6-for-12), four steals, seven rebounds and three assists while Walters added 21 points (six three-pointers) off the bench.
• Lee recorded 17 points and the game-winning assist along with Greenberg chipping in eight points, including the game-winning triple.
• Medina registered eight points, seven rebounds, four steals, three assists and two blocks while sophomore Kreekor Karageuzian handing out a game-high seven assists.

For The Raptors

• Panagiotounis poured in a game-high 28 points to go along with nine rebounds while Heinze recorded a double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds.
• Wilcox tallied 16 points, eight rebounds and four blocks while Almodovar earned a double-double with 12 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and two steals.

Game Statistics

• Vassar finished the contest shooting 39.7-percent from the field while drilling 14 three-pointers and going 13-for-14 from the free throw line.
• Bard ended the game shooting 42-percent overall while going just 6-for-23 from three-point range and 14-for-20 from the free throw stripe.
• The Brewers held a 20-8 advantage in points off turnovers while the Raptors held a large 19-2 edge in second chance points and 46-22 in points in the paint.

Up Next

• Vassar heads to Union tomorrow afternoon for a 4:00 p.m. tip-off.
• Bard plays host to conference foe Skidmore tomorrow.