Poughkeepsie, NY - The Vassar College Men's Basketball team scored its third straight Liberty League victory on Friday evening as the Brewers outlasted Clarkson at home in a 56-54 slugfest at the Athletics and Fitness Center. Vassar's record improves to 7-3 overall and 3-0 in conference action while the Golden Knights fall to 5-7 on the season and 0-5 in Liberty League play.

First Half

• A three-point play from Nate Abernethy put Clarkson ahead 6-4 at the 16:14 mark before the Brewers used an 8-0 run behind three-pointers from junior Sebastian Medina and sophomore Will Gregory and a lay-in from junior Kreekor Karageuzian.
• Aydin Kocak's three trimmed the lead to 12-11 until Vassar expanded the lead to 23-10 on a 11-2 run, led by eight points from sophomore Parker Neuenhaus and a triple from senior Sacha Greenberg.
• A 7-0 run from the Golden Knights, led by five points from Braeden Burns, cut the advantage to 25-22 with 2:31 remaining.
• Vassar closed the first half on a 8-0 run behind four points from junior Shea Fitzgerald and two points apiece from Neuenhaus and junior Eric Zhang to take a 33-22 lead into the halftime break.
• The Brewers ended the opening 20 minutes shooting 36.1-percent from the field along with 3-for-10 from three and 4-for-9 from the free throw line.
• Clarkson finished the first half shooting 32.1-percent overall while shooting 3-for-12 from the three-point line.

Second Half

• Five points from Fitzgerald in the opening three minutes kept the Vassar lead at 11 at 38-27 with 17:44 remaining.
• Clarkson cut the lead down to 38-34 at the 14:25 mark following five points from Steve DeRegis and a bucket from Burns.
• The Golden Knights got within a point at 42-41 following a stepback three-pointer before Vassar pushed ahead 47-43 with 10:52 left on two Fitzgerald free throws.
• Abernethy evened the game at 48 all on a three-pointer with 8:12 to go in regulation and Clarkson took its first lead of the second half behind another Abernethy bucket and two free throws from Lorenzo Rappa.
• Two free throws from senior Nathan Denham brought Vassar back within one with 2:33 remaining and a Neuenahaus free throw tied the game at 54 with just 1:51 to go.
• A free throw apiece from Medina and Fitzgerald in the final two minutes gave the Brewers its final lead as Vassar held Clarkson scoreless over the final 3:23 of regulation.
• Vassar was limited to just 4-for-26 shooting in the second half but converted 14-for-20 from the free throw line.
• Clarkson ended the second half shooting 33.3-percent overall while knocking down five three-pointers and 7-for-10 from the free throw line.

For The Brewers

• Neuenhaus tallied 14 points, four boards and two blocks while Fitzgerald garnered 14 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals.
• Medina added seven points, five rebounds and two steals along with Karageuzian posted five points and six boards.
• Greenberg chipped in seven points and a team-high 12 rebounds off the bench.

For The Golden Knights

• DeRegis recorded a game-high 18 points, three assists and three rebounds along with Burns adding 17 points.
• Abernethy registered eight points, seven rebounds and two blocks while Kocak chipped in five points and seven rebounds.
• Rappa garnered four points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Game Statistics

• Vassar closed the evening shooting 27.4-percent from the field, including just 4-for-19 from three-point range, along with shooting 18-for-29 from the free throw line.
• The Golden Knights finished the contest shooting 32.8-percent overall while knocking down 8-for-29 from three-point territory and 8-for-11 from the free throw stripe.
• VC outscored Clarkson 26-22 in the paint and converted 20 second chance points to Clarkson's 12.
• Clarkson held a 14-8 advantage in points off turnovers.

Up Next

• Vassar will play host to North Country foe St. Lawrence on Saturday afternoon at 4:00 p.m.
• Clarkson heads to local rival Bard on Saturday.