Rensselaer senior guard Neal Wesson (Portsmouth, RI/Portsmouth) hit a three-point shot from the top of the key with 6:05 left in the second half to give the home team a 57-56 lead – its first of the game. Vassar answered with a 10-1 run to take a 66-58 lead with 2:18 remaining and the homestanding Red Hawks could pull no closer than five points the rest of the way.
Junior guard Tyson Brazell (Salt Lake City, UT/Waterford School) led the Brewers with a game-high 20 points and seven rebounds. Junior forward Lawrence Avitabile (Southington, CT/Southington) added 15 points, a team-high nine rebounds, four assists, and three steals, while sophomore forward Joe Davis (East Amherst, NY/St. Joseph’s Institute) added 12 points. Sophomore guard Brian Butterworth (Hamilton, MA/Hamilton-Wenham) chipped in with 11 points.
Rensselaer also had four players reach double figures in points, led by Wesson and sophomore forward Graham Gordon (Mt. Vernon, NY/Iona Prep), both of whom had 15 points. Gordon also had a game-high ten rebounds, including six offensive. Junior Kris Kowalczyk (Colonie, NY/Colonie) added 11 points and junior forward Sam Simmons (Newburgh, NY/Newburgh Free Academy) scored ten.
The first half also featured big runs by both teams. Vassar turned a 10-9 lead into a 17-point advantage, 27-10 with 11:27 remaining, with a 17-1 run. Rensselaer countered with an 11-2 run of its own to make it 29-21 with 8:54 remaining but the visiting Brewers connected on two consecutive three-pointers for a 35-21 lead at the 8:12 mark. RPI then closed out the half with a 16-4 run, including ten straight points, to trail by only two (39-37) at the break.
Brazell led all scorers with 15 first half points on 6-of-9 shooting, while Davis added ten for the Brewers, who made 50.0% (13-of-26) of their shots. RPI was good on 53.6% (15-for-28) of its first half shots, led by Simmons. He was 4-for-4 from the field and 2-for-2 from the foul line for ten points at halftime.
With the win the Brewers improve to 15-7 overall and 8-4 in the Liberty League. They move into a second place tie in the league standings with two games to play. The Red Hawks, who are in fifth place, fall to 13-10 and 6-6.
Rensselaer returns to action on Friday night at Hobart College. The Brewers also play again on Friday, traveling to Hamilton College. Both games are Liberty League games that begin at 8pm.