The key 3-pointers came from sophomore guard Brian Butterworth (Hamilton, NY/Hamilton-Wenham), and junior guards Jon Swartz (Nanuet, NY/Nanuet) and Tyson Brazell (Salt Lake City, UT/Waterford School) -- all in succession -- to close a SUNY New Paltz lead to 61-60. A layup by Brazell put the Brewers ahead, 62-61, with 4:30 to play, a lead VC would relinquish.
Vassar got a game-high 21 points from Brazell and 20 points and 12 rebounds from junior forward Lawrence Avitabile (Southington, CT/Southington). New Paltz was led by senior guard John Hauser (East Williston, NY/Chaminade East) with 17 points and junior guard Tony Cannon (Millbrook, NY/Millbrook) with 13 points along with freshman guard Phil Oliver from Poughkeepsie and Peekskill High with 13 points.
It wasn\'t easy for the two-time defending Brewers (2-3). The Hawks (1-1) gave Vassar everything it could handle, and then some. New Paltz fought back from a 37-30 second half deficit to tie the game 44-44 with 10:37 remaining.
At that point, a game that had featured furious end-to-end action got even faster, with each team making high percentage plays in a back-and-forth contest that had several momentum swings and an intensity normally found when local rivals play.
A 3-point basket Hawks junior guard Jimmy Sugrue (Hastings-On-Hudson/Hastings) gave New Paltz its largest lead of the game, 57-51 with 7:58 to play and the Hawks extended that margin to 60-51 with an inside game that got hot at just the right time. Vassar kept in the game with consecutive 3-pointers, stemming the tide that had clearly swung in New Paltz\' favor. Most of the second half was a game of one-upmanship, with New Paltz leading, Vassar mounting a comeback and both teams trading basket for basket.
New Paltz got its first lead of the second half, 47-46, on a 3-pointer by Cannon with 9:46 to play.
The first half was physical, intense and played at a thoroughbred-like speed with eight lead changes. Vassar broke out to an early 6-2 lead on the strength of two 3-pointers by Butterworth. New Paltz was able to tie the game at 8-8 on a layup by Hauser, who had 10 points in the first half, and then the contest became a see-saw affair that intensified with each possession. A layup by Bertram at 11:14 provided the Hawks with their largest lead of the half, 13-9.
With 5:00 to play, Avitabile, who had 11 points and 7 rebounds in the first half, hit a layup that put the Brewers up 25-20. It created a five-point margin that Vassar would enjoy again, 30-25, with 1:28 to play following an Avitabile free throw. The five point margin was the largest point lead either team enjoyed in the first 20 minutes and although New Paltz got within 30-28, the Brewers added a late bucket for the 32-28 halftime lead. Eighteen of the Hawks\' first half points came from within the paint.
Opening Game
In the opening round of the Hudson Valley Shootout, Mt. St. Mary College used a high-scoring offense led by senior guard Mike Hoyt\'s game-high 21 points, to gradually pull away from a resilient Bard College team, 91-53.
The Blue Knights got a 13 first half points from Hoyt (Florida, NY/S.S. Steward Institute) and methodically extended its 13-point halftime lead against a Bard team that hung touch for much of the game despite shooting woes that kept the Raptors from getting no closer than eight points (44-36) at any time in the second half. While the Blue Knights connected on 47 percent of its shots, Bard was done in by a tough shooting night. The Raptors shot only 28 percent from the field and were forced into 31 turnovers, which Mt. St. Mary turned into 29 points.
A quick burst of 13 points in the first seven minutes of the second half by Mt. St. Mary’s enabled the Blue Knights to maintain their double digit lead that reached its highest point at games end.
In addition to Hoyt\'s 21 point outing, Mt. St. Mary\'s got 10 points, 10 rebounds and 7 blocks from sophomore forward Chris Harrison (Baldwin, NY/Holy Trinity) and 10 points with 8 rebounds from senior guard Trevor Wiggins (Newburgh, NY/Newburgh Free Academy). Bard placed two players in doubles figures – junior guard Demitrus Washington (Killeen, TX/Leilehau) and sophomore guard Eber Wright (Palm City, FL/John Carroll).
Throughout the first half, Mt. St. Mary threatened to make quick work of Bard, but the Raptors hung tough after a rocky start. The Blue Knights broke out to a 17-3 lead, scoring 14 of those points in the first five minutes of the game. Eight of those points came from Hoyt, who finished the half with 13 points. The Raptors, who started one of six from three-point range made five of their next eight attempts in the half to pull within seven points, 30-23, with 4:48 remaining in the half. Mt. St. Mary answered that run by outscoring Bard 13-7 to close out the half leading 43-30. The Raptors managed only 29 percent shooting from the floor while the Blue Knights connected on 50 percent of their attempts.