Poughkeepsie, NY - The third-seeded Vassar College Men's Basketball team continues its hunt for a second Liberty League title on Friday as the Brewers will travel to second-seeded Union in the semifinals of the Liberty League Championship. Tip-off with the Garnet Chargers is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the Athletics and Fitness Center.

Quick Glance

• Vassar finished the regular season at 17-8 overall and 13-5 in Liberty League play, which sets a new program record for conference victories in a season.
• VC advanced to the semifinals following a 67-64 victory over sixth-seeded Skidmore in the First Round on Tuesday evening. Sophomore Parker Neuenhaus led the way with 23 points along with junior Shea Fitzgerald posting 18 points and first year Kas Mirza supplying a career-high 18 points off the bench.
• Vassar's First Round win gave the Brewers its 18th victory, matching the second-most wins in a single season and ties the most wins in a season under Head Coach Ryan Mee.
• The Brewers were receiving votes during multiple weeks of the D3Hoops.com Top-25 poll this season.
• VC entered the postseason ranked fourth in the league in scoring at 73.6 points per game and allow the second fewest points per game at 64.5.
• The Brewers are also tied for the top spot in the conference in opponent field goal percentage (38.5-percent) and lead the conference in rebounding.

For The Brewers

• Vassar is led by two double-digit scorers as reigning Liberty League Player of the Year Fitzgerald leads the team in scoring at 16.3 points per game and is the team leader in steals with 40.
• Neuenhaus is second on the squad in points per game with 14.3 and is now second on the team in blocks with 22.
• Senior Nathan Denham is averaging 9.0 points per game and a team-high 7.2 rebounds per contest along with 38 steals and 21 blocks.
• Junior Sebastian Medina chips in 6.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per night and has handed out 61 assists.
• Junior Kreekor Karageuzian rounds out the starting five with a team-high 88 assists while posting almost five points a game and 37 steals.
• Off the bench, senior Sacha Greenberg is posting 6.2 points per game and is second on the team in offensive rebounds with 51.
• Sophomore Will Gregory is second on the team in made three-pointers with 23 and first year Gyasi Zinn leads the team in blocks with 30.

Scouting The Garnet Chargers

• Union earned the second seed and first round bye following a 19-6 overall record and 14-4 record in Liberty League matchups.
• The Garnet Chargers are led by the conference's leading scorer in Jack Plesser, who is averaging 22.6 points per game and is tied for the team lead in rebounding at 7.4 per game. Plesser also leads the team in blocks with 35 and has added 33 assists.
• Tanner Tedesco is second on the team in scoring with 14.8 and is the conference leader in assists with 144 along with leading the team in three-point field goals made with 61.
• Matthew Garside is third on the squad in scoring at 11.8 per game and has added 67 assists and a team-high 44 steals.
• Christian Dufort rounds out the double-digit scorers with 10.8 and is tied for the team lead in rebounding with 7.4 per game.
• Union is tied for second in the conference in scoring at 77.3 per game along with ranking fourth in defensive scoring at 70.0 per night.

Regular Season Matchups

• Vassar swept the regular season series as the Brewers outlasted Union, 76-74, in the first matchup of the season in Schenectady.
• The Brewers used 28 points from Fitzgerald and 23 from Neuenhaus to hold off a big second half surge from the Garnet Chargers.
• Plesser recorded a game-high 30 points and 13 rebounds along with Tedesco adding 15 points.
• In the matchup in Poughkeepsie, Vassar pulled off a come-from-behind 68-61 overtime victory to complete the series sweep.
• Fitzgerald knocked down a three-pointer in the final seconds of regulation to send the game to OT as he led the way with 22 points.
• Garside tallied a team-high 19 points for Union along with Plesser, Dufort and Cade Furse chipping in 10 points each.

Liberty League Recent Championship History

• Vassar's first ever Liberty League Championship crown came following the 2021-22 season where the Brewers toppled Skidmore 65-48.
• Union has won four conference titles (2002, 2005, 2017, 2018) and has made five NCAA Tournament appearances.
• The two teams have only met in the postseason once as Union defeated Vassar 72-62 in a first round matchup in 2020.

Conference Championship Slate

• Friday, February 27th
  • (3) Vassar vs (2) Union - 7:30 p.m.
  • (4) St. Lawrence vs (1) RPI - 7:00 p.m.
• Sunday, March 1st
  • Winner of two semifinal games

What's At Stake

• The winner of Tuesday's First Round matchup will travel to second-seeded Union on Friday for a semifinal clash.