Orange, CA - Junior Shea Fitzgerald became the first 1,000 point scorer since 2019 on Friday afternoon but the Vassar College Men's Basketball team suffered a narrow 70-69 lead on the road against Chapman to close the two-game California trip. Fitzgerald marks the 19th Brewer to cross the milestone as the Brewers fall to 6-3 overall while the Panthers improve to 8-3 on the season.

First Half

• Following a Cruz Billings lay-in to put Chapman ahead 5-4 early, Vassar answered with 16-0 run over the next seven minutes to take a 20-5 lead at the 10:45 mark.
• Six points from sophomore Will Gregory, four points from junior Sebastian Medina and a bucket each from senior Nathan Denham, sophomore Parker Neuenhaus and senior Sacha Greenberg spurred the big run for the Brewers.
• Chapman responded with an 8-2 run over the next four minutes to get within 22-13 on a TJ Tittelfitz layup with 6:11 left in the opening half.
• Two three-pointers from Fitzgerald along with two lay-ins from first year Gyasi Zinn increased the VC lead to 32-21 with 2:57 remaining in the first half.
• The Panthers ended the opening 20 minutes on a 7-0 run behind a triple from Billings and buckets from Tittelfitz and Jake Heberle to cut the Brewers advantage to 32-28 at the half.
• Vassar closed the first half shooting an even 50-percent overall while knocking down 3-of-8 from beyond the three-point arc.
• Chapman finished the first stanza shooting 37-percent from the field and were limited to 3-for-17 from the three-point line.

Second Half

• After a layup from Fitzgerald to put the Brewers ahead 36-32 early in the second half, the Panthers scored six consecutive points to earn a 39-36 lead on a triple from Billings.
• Five straight points from Fitzgerald and a bucket from Greenberg pushed Vassar back in front 45-41 with 13:48 remaining in the second half.
• Greenberg's five consecutive points kept VC in front 50-46 until Chapman answered with an 8-0 run to take a 54-50 lead on a three-point play from Billings.
• Three free throws from Joe Keegan expanded the Panthers advantage to 60-55 at the 7:11 mark of regulation.
• Vassar drew back within two points on an old-fashioned three-point play from Fitzgerald with just under six minutes to go in the second half.
• Following a free throw from Heberle with 4:34 remaining, the Brewers rallied to tie the game at 67 behind jumpers from Medina and Neuenhaus along with two free throws from Fitzgerald.
• VC went back ahead by a point at 69-68 on a Denham make with two minutes remaining before the Panthers responded with a layup from Billings with just 1:12 to go in regulation to earn a 70-69 advantage.
• Neither team was able to score in the final minutes as the Brewers would have the final possession but were unable to convert before the final horn.

For The Brewers

• Fitzgerald tallied a team-high 20 points to cross the 1,000 point threshold and added four steals, two assists and two rebounds.
• Denham garnered 11 points, six rebounds and two blocks while Neuenhaus recorded 10 points, six boards and two assists.
• Greenberg posted nine points, a team-high eight rebounds and two blocks off the bench and Gregory chipped in seven points.
• Medina finished the day with six points, six rebounds and three assists.

For The Panthers

• Billings led the way with a game-high 25 points, five assists and two steals while Heberle registered 16 points and eight rebounds.
• Keegan posted 10 points, six rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals along with Scott Schulz chipping in six points and six boards.
• Luke Farrington tallied three points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Game Statistics

• Vassar finished the contest shooting 45-percent from the field while going 4-for-14 from three-point distance and 11-for-15 from the free throw line.
• Chapman closed the matchup shooting 40.4-percent overall, including 8-for-33 from three-point range, and 16-for-26 from the free throw stripe.
• The Panthers held a 20-7 edge in points off turnovers and 18-13 in second chance points.
• Vassar outscored Chapman 42-26 in points in the paint.

Up Next

• Vassar returns home to restart Liberty League play against Clarkson on Friday, January 9 at 7:30 p.m.
• Chapman heads back into SCIAC play on Monday afternoon at Cal Lutheran.