Vassar (12-12, 5-9) might have been the surprise team of the Liberty League this season. In 2003-2004, the Brewers managed only five wins overall and one in conference play. The 12 wins were the most since the 1999-2000 season and the five Liberty League wins are the best since joining the league four years ago. Up until the dramatic 61-58 loss to RPI on February 15, the Brewers were in the mix for the fourth spot in the Liberty League playoffs.
Winton (San Francisco, CA/University), who scored 321 points this season (13.4 ppg), finishes his career with 1,157 points, fifth best in school history. Winton also dished out 53 assists, earning him 233 for his career, fourth best in VC history. Winton's 33 steals pushed him to 149 in his career, third best all-time.
Vassar, which shot only 8 of 29 from 3-point range, a deciding factor in the outcome, did place four players in double figures. Following Winton, senior guard Seth Taft (Philadelphia, PA/Abington Friends) scored 11, freshman guard Tyson Brazell (Salt Lake City, UT/Waterford School) added 10 and sophomore forward Evan Hannay (Longmeadow, MA/Longmeadow), starting in the place of injured sophomore forward William Kieffer (Chappaqua, NY), contributed 10 points in 14 minutes, his highest scoring output of the season.
The Brewers led for roughly the first 10 minutes of the first half against Hobart (15-9, 10-4), the top-seeded in the Liberty League Tournament. Winton's 3-pointer with 11:26 to play in the first half gave the Brewers a 18-17 lead. It increased to 25-20 on the strength of Taft's jumper with 8:02 to play. Hobart tied the game at 27-27 on a Joe Virgilio jumper with 5:06 to play, and then the Statesmen outscored Vassar 15-4 to take a 42-31 lead into intermission.
The Statesmen, who shot 46 percent from the field for the game compared to Vassar's 36 percent, came out blazing in the second half and built a 50-36 lead with 17:10 to play. The tandem of guard Colby Feane, who scored a game-high 24 points and Virgilio, who came off the Hobart bench to score 16 points, led the crusade.
The Brewers couldn't cut into the Hobart lead with any great success, although VC did get within eight points three times. Hobart forward Joe Flacke scored all of his 12 points in the second half on 5 of 7 shooting in keeping Vassar from mounting a comeback. Hobart, which only out-rebounded Vassar 42-41, got nearly half of its points (42) in the paint.
For most of the second half, the Hobart lead was between 10 and 15 points, the closest Vassar coming was at 69-61 with 7:35 to play following a Winton layup. Two minutes later, however, Hobart increased its lead to 78-65, essentially thwarting any Vassar upset ideas.
On the game, Vassar's Taft had six assists, giving him 95 on the season (3.9 apg) and 274 for a career, third best in Vassar history. Taft's 3.958 per game mark eclipses the previous single season mark of 3.88 set by Joe Nazzaro in the 2001 season. Nazarro is currently an assistant coach for the men's soccer team. Taft's 28 steals gives him 101 for a career, 7th best all-time.
Vassar's third senior, Aldus Butler (Larkspur, CA), finishes his first season of basketball playing in 24 games -- earning his first start against RPI on Feb. 15 -- and collecting season highs of 8 points and 8 rebounds in a 70-51 win over Hartwick.
Other noteworthy milestones: Junior guard Will Byrne (Chelmsford, MA/Concord Academy) connected on 61 3-pointers this season (61-173/.353), the third-best single season mark in Vassar history.
Freshman sensation Lawrence Avitabile (Southington, CT/Southington), a leading candidate for Liberty League Rookie of the Year, had 43 blocks on the season, the fourth best mark in school history, and already fourth all-time on the career list. Avitabile also had 40 steals, 11th best in a single season. Avitabile's 140 field goals made is the fifth best single season mark in school history and his .562 shooting percentage (140-249) is best in VC single-season history.
Vassar College vs Hobart College 02-19-05 4 p.m. at Bristol Gym, Geneva, N.Y. At Bristol Gym, Geneva, N.Y. HOBART COLLEGE 86, VASSAR COLLEGE 72 VASSAR COLLEGE (12-12, 5-9 LL) Judson Winton 7-17 0-0 17; Seth Taft 3-10 4-4 11; Tyson Brazell 4-10 2-2 10; Evan Hannay 4-8 2-2 10; Will Byrne 3-6 0-0 8; Lawrence Avitabile 2-10 3-4 7; Daniel Forcella 2-7 0-0 6; Rob Dauster 1-2 0-0 2; Jonathan Swartz 0-1 0-0 0; Aldis Butler 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-72 12-14 72. HOBART COLLEGE (15-9, 10-4 LL) Colby Feane 10-16 1-2 24; Joe Virgilio 6-10 2-2 16; Joe Flacke 5-9 2-4 12; Adam Frederic 2-7 4-4 9; Tim Apuzzo 3-6 3-4 9; Mike Manning 3-9 0-0 6; Mike Mastro 3-5 0-0 6; Zack Stelzner 0-2 2-2 2; Rob Genovese 0-3 2-4 2; Eric Jacks 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 32-69 16-22 86. Vassar College................ 31 41 - 72 Hobart College................ 42 44 - 86 3-point goals-Vassar College 8-29 (Judson Winton 3-9; Daniel Forcella 2-7; Will Byrne 2-4; Seth Taft 1-5; Rob Dauster 0-1; Jonathan Swartz 0-1; Tyson Brazell 0-2), Hobart College 6-13 (Colby Feane 3-4; Joe Virgilio 2-5; Adam Frederic 1-2; Mike Manning 0-2). Fouled out--Vassar College-None, Hobart College-None. Rebounds-Vassar College 41 (Lawrence Avitabile 10), Hobart College 42 (Colby Feane 9). Assists-Vassar College 16 (Seth Taft 6), Hobart College 16 (Colby Feane 7). Total fouls-Vassar College 19, Hobart College 16. A-417