Vassar came into the weekend in a three-way struggle with Union and RPI for the conferences fourth and final playoff spot. A tough loss to Union Friday night dropped the Brewers into fifth place, two games behind Union. However, Union dropped a 64-59 decision to RPI this afternoon, meaning Vassar and RPI now trail the Dutchmen by just a single game in the standings.
Both defenses played aggressively from the very beginning, making it difficult for either team to find its offensive footing in this tightly played contest.
Freshman guard Daniel Forcella (Falmouth, ME/Falmouth) came off the bench to give the Brewers a spark in the first half. Forcella tallied a season and career high 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting, including 3-of-3 from three point range. His hot hand helped Vassar overcome an early five-point deficit and carry a 31-28 lead into halftime.
Throughout the second half, Skidmore slowly chipped away at Vassar, but were never able to take the lead.
The closest Skidmore came was at 4:47 to play, when senior forward Fran Murray (Barrington, RI/Barrington) drove in for a lay-up and was fouled. The ensuing free-throw cut Vassars lead to 52-51.
On the following possession, Vassar senior guard Jud Winton (San Francisco, CA/University), playing in his final home game, calmly drained a three pointer from the right corner to put Vassar up 55-51 and re-establish momentum.
Two other Vassar seniors, forward Aldis Butler (Larkspur, CA/University) and guard Seth Taft (Philadelphia, PA/Abington Friends), played clutch roles down the stretch. Both players sunk a pair of free throws in the games final seconds to keep The Brewers at a comfortable margin and secure the win.
Four players scored in double figures for the Brewers, including freshman forward Lawrence Avitable (Southington, CT/Southington) (12 points), Forcella (11 points), Winton (11 points) and sophomore forward Will Keiffer (Chappaqua, NY/Horace Greeley) (10 points).
Skidmore was lead by senior guard Dana Martin (Stowe, VT/Stowe) who registered game highs with 20 points and 11 rebounds and senior guard J. P. Corry (Barrington, RI/Barrington) who scored 16 points and grabbed 4 rebounds.
Vassars quest for the playoffs faces a serious test when it travels to RPI for a Liberty League match-up Tuesday night at 8 p.m. Skidmore hosts Clarkson next Friday, also at 8 p.m.
Skidmore College vs Vassar 2/12/05 6:00 pm at Poughkeepsie, Ny VASSAR 61, SKIDMORE COLLEGE 59 SKIDMORE COLLEGE (14-7, 8-4) Dana Martin 8-17 3-4 20; J.P. Corry 4-9 6-8 16; Fran Murray 4-10 3-3 11; Steve Yaeger 3-6 0-0 6; Greg Gallagher 1-3 0-0 3; Michael Murray 1-6 0-1 3; J.Haviland-Markowitz 0-2 0-0 0; Cortlandt Toczylowsk 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 21-57 12-16 59. VASSAR (12-9, 5-6) Lawrence Avitabile 6-15 0-1 12; Judson Winton 4-7 0-0 11; Daniel Forcella 4-6 0-0 11; William Kieffer 5-14 0-0 10; Seth Taft 3-7 2-3 9; Tyson Brazell 1-3 0-0 3; Evan Hannay 1-2 0-0 2; Will Byrne 0-8 0-1 0. Totals 24-62 5-9 61. Skidmore College.............. 28 31 - 59 Vassar........................ 31 30 - 61 3-point goals-Skidmore College 5-16 (J.P. Corry 2-6; Dana Martin 1-3; Michael Murray 1-4; Greg Gallagher 1-2; Cortlandt Toczylowsk 0-1), Vassar 8-18 (Daniel Forcella 3-5; Judson Winton 3-3; Seth Taft 1-4; Tyson Brazell 1-1; Will Byrne 0-5). Fouled out--Skidmore College-None, Vassar-None. Rebounds-Skidmore College 38 (Dana Martin 11), Vassar 32 (William Kieffer 7). Assists-Skidmore College 9 (Fran Murray 4), Vassar 14 (Seth Taft 4). Total fouls-Skidmore College 15, Vassar 18. A-300