Vassar used a 9-0 run over the final 3:30 of the first half, fueled by four points from Avitible and five from Daniel Forcella (Falmouth/Falmouth, Me.) to take a 34-25 lead into the half.
The Brewers built their lead to as many as 18 points, 50-32, on a layup by Tyson Brazell (Waterford School/Salt Lake City/Utah) with 12:35 left in the game.
Hartwick did not go quietly, climbing back into the game, with a 16-5 run of their own, to cut the lead to seven, 55-48 on an old-fashioned three-point play by freshman guard Kevin Ryan (Lawrence Academy/Scotch Plains, N.J.) with 6:02 left in the game.
Vassar held Hartwick to just a solitary foul shot over the next 4:47 to build the lead back to 13, 62-49 with less than a minute and a half to play.
Freshman forward Anthony Brown (North Division/Milwaukee, Wisc.) led Hartwick with 12 points and 18 rebounds. Senior guard Tim Kindlon (Bethlehem/Delmar, N.Y.) added 11 points.
Hartwick (3-2) will be back in action on Thursday night, when the Hawks travel to Bard College for a 6:00 p.m. game. Hartwick will host the Holiday Inn Classic for both men’s and women’s basketball this Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Forcella was the only other player in double figures for Vassar, which improved to 6-1 with the win. Vassar played its final game of the semester. The Brewers will be idle until January 7 when they host SUNY-IT.
VASSAR vs Hartwick College 12/6/05 7:00 p.m. at Oneonta, N.Y. (Binder Gymnasium) At Oneonta, N.Y. (Binder Gymnasium) VASSAR 65, HARTWICK COLLEGE 55 VASSAR (6-1) Lawrence Avitabile 12-15 3-8 28; Daniel Forcella 3-6 2-5 10; Will Byrne 2-6 3-4 8; Tyson Brazell 3-10 0-0 6; William Kieffer 3-10 0-0 6; Brian Butterworth 2-4 0-0 5; Lenny Holt 1-1 0-0 2; Evan Hannay 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 26-54 8-17 65. HARTWICK COLLEGE (3-2) BROWN, Anthony 6-12 0-0 12; KINDLON, Tim 4-8 0-0 11; COCOZZIELLO, Jan 4-10 0-1 8; BEAULIEU, A.J. 2-10 2-2 6; RYAN, Kevin 2-6 2-3 6; MacKENZIE, Josh 2-2 0-0 5; DILLS, Jeff 1-2 0-0 3; DUNNIGAN, Pat 1-4 1-2 3; HULICK, Albe 0-2 1-2 1; LANFEAR, Alex 0-3 0-0 0; DOYLEY, Ramond 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 22-61 6-10 55. VASSAR........................ 34 31 - 65 Hartwick College.............. 25 30 - 55 3-point goals-VASSAR 5-15 (Daniel Forcella 2-4; Lawrence Avitabile 1-1; Brian Butterworth 1-3; Will Byrne 1-5; Tyson Brazell 0-2), Hartwick College 5-17 (KINDLON, Tim 3-6; MacKENZIE, Josh 1-1; DILLS, Jeff 1-1; RYAN, Kevin 0-3; DUNNIGAN, Pat 0-1; HULICK, Albe 0-1; LANFEAR, Alex 0-1; BEAULIEU, A.J. 0-2; BROWN, Anthony 0-1). Fouled out--VASSAR-None, Hartwick College-None. Rebounds-VASSAR 35 (Lawrence Avitabile 13), Hartwick College 36 (BROWN, Anthony 18). Assists-VASSAR 16 (Will Byrne 5), Hartwick College 9 (COCOZZIELLO, Jan 2; RYAN, Kevin 2). Total fouls-VASSAR 15, Hartwick College 18. A-178