POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (February 3, 2017) — The Vassar College men's basketball team (5-15, 1-10 Liberty) battled all the way to the final buzzer, but ultimately fell to Union College (10-8, 6-4 Liberty) at the Athletics & Fitness Center on Friday, 79-75.
Jesse Browne logged 22 points and eight assists, Alex Seff added 19 points and five boards, Owen Murray tallied 11 points to round out the Brewers' top scorers. Tony Caletti was productive across the board, totaling eight points, eight boards and a game-high six assists.
The Brewers shot 54 percent from the floor and 44 percent (8-of-18) from distance, while their visitors shot 41 and 40 percent (8-of-20), respectively. Vassar also out-rebounded Union, 39-35.
Four Dutchmen reached double-digit scoring in Deshon Burgess (22p), Wade McNamara (14), Kevin Weckworth (14p) and Zachary Bouton (10p). McNamara led his team in boards (8), Bouton led in assists (4) and Bugess led in steals (6).
In front of a raucous home crowd, the Brewers opened the contest with a 7-2 run, capped by Seff's three-pointer. The Dutchmen continued to chip away to eventually take a brief 17-16 lead, but Browne converted on a three-point play to put Vassar back on top, 19-17.
Later in the half, Browne continued to showcase his offensive prowess, drilling back-to-back treys before connecting on a layup to give the Brewers a 29-23 advantage with 4:15 remaining in the half.
Seff scored the final four points of the half for the Brewers, as his team took a 35-30 edge into the break.
Burgess singlehandedly scored the first eight points of the second half for the Dutchmen, with his triple flipping the lead in their favor, 38-37. Seff strung together four straight points to reclaim the lead for Vassar, 41-38, but Union used a 10-0 run to take a 48-41 lead at the 13:58 mark.
The Brewers scored six of the next eight, with Caletti and Murray highlighting the mini burst with two impressive plays. Murray first found Caletti in transition for a catch-and-shoot three, 50-47, before Caletti returned the favor with a dime pass in the paint to Murray, who laid one in to pull within 52-49.
Vassar pulled within three twice more — on another Murray layup and on a Kyle Kappesthree-pointer — before Union used a 11-4 run to take a double-digit lead, 69-59, with 5:36 to go.
Still, the Brewers continued to battle, using a 10-2 run, capped by Browne's three-pointer, to close the gap to 71-69 at the 1:14 mark.
Greg King responded with a trey on the other end and Matt Liquori converted on the backend of a free throw to push Union's lead to six, 75-69.
Browne came through once more, drilling a triple from Caletti with 12 seconds to go, 75-72. Again, Union converted on one of two free throws on the other end before Caletti splashed home another three with five seconds remaining, 76-75.
That was the closest the Brewers came to flipping the lead, as the Dutchmen hit three more from the charity stripe to conclude competition.
The Brewers return to the hardwood for Senior Day, welcoming Skidmore College to the Athletics & Fitness Center on Saturday, Feb. 3 at 4 p.m.
—VASSAR—