Hamilton (17-6 overall, 10-3 league) clinched the No. 1 seed and will host the four-team league championships tournament for the second straight year. The tournament starts with two semifinal games next Friday. The Continentals, who are ranked fourth in the East region by the NCAA, can capture the league regular season title outright if they defeat Rensselaer at home on Saturday, Feb. 17, at 4 p.m.
Vassar's win streak was stopped at three games, but the Brewers (15-8, 8-5) are in the league tournament as the No. 3 seed. Hamilton leads the all-time series against Vassar with 14 wins and one loss.
The Continentals have won seven of their last eight games overall. Tsakani Ngobeni '07 added 16 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and one blocked shot for Hamilton. Ngobeni has seven double-doubles this season. Zarrette Rogers '07 dropped in a season-high 15 points and added six boards.
The Brewers' Lawrence Avitabile '08 led all scorers with 22 points and pulled down nine rebounds. Tyson Brazell '08 chipped in 18 points and eight rebounds, including five on the offensive end.
The Continentals jumped out to an 11-4 lead with 12:48 left in the first half as both teams were deliberate on offense to start the game. Hamilton never trailed. Ngobeni's lay-up put the Continentals up by 13 at 40-27 before Hamilton settled for a 40-29 advantage at the half. The Continentals made 7 of 12 three-pointers in the first 20 minutes.
Vassar closed to within seven points at 42-35 early in the second half, but Hamilton went on a 10-2 run to seize control of the contest. The lead didn't dip below double digits the rest of the game. The Continentals shot well from everywhere on the court. Hamilton made 50.8 percent (30-59) of its field goal attempts, including 9 of 19 from beyond the arc, and went 16-for-20 (80 percent) at the free throw line. The Brewers shot 38.7 percent from the floor.