The Brewers (4-3) were led by junior forward Lawrence Avitabile (Southington, CT/Southington) who led four players in double-figures with 13 points. Avitabile's effort helped Vassar record its first ever win over Drew. The Brewers had lost their previous eight meetings to the Rangers.
Junior guard Tyson Brazell (Salt Lake City, UT/Waterford) and sophomore forward Matt Nunn (Lower Gwynedd, PA/Abington Friends) and sophomore guard Brian Butterworth (Hamilton, MA/Hamilton-Wenham) all added 10 points for Vassar. Brazell did most of damage from the free throw line where he connected on 8-of-11 tries including a pair of free throws with 10 seconds remaining to put the Brewers ahead 61-56. On the prior possession, Drew (2-4) had cut a six-point Brewer lead down to three on a three-point play by junior forward Scott Miller (Piscataway, NJ/Piscataway).
Drew was led by sophomore guard Gerard Mullin (Freehold, NJ/St. Rose) who had a game-best 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field.
The Rangers controlled the tempo early on and built a 15-9 lead at the 12-minute mark when Mullin scored inside to give the Rangers their biggest lead of the half. From there, Vassar clamped down the defensive end kept Drew off the scored for the next four minutes. Meanwhile, Nunn came off the bench and provided a spark with a basket and a steal to key a 7-0 run which gave Vassar a 16-15 lead. Nunn scored seven points on 3-of-4 shooting in the opening half.
The final seven minutes of the first half saw the lead change hands three times with Vassar claiming the lead for good on a pair of free throws by Buttterworth. Nunn, who enjoyed a career-high scoring night, provided the final four points of the half giving the Brewers a 30-25 lead at the break.
The Brewers will next host SUNY Purchase on Saturday January 6 at 2:00 p.m.