The Panthers came out of the gates quickly, scoring the game’s first seven points, before a 3-pointer by senior guard Seth Taft (Philadelphia, PA/Abington Friends), his first of three, stopped the bleeding. Purchase took a 13-12 lead at 13:57, on a layup by Benny Rupel (game-high 19 pts and 7 rebs), but the Brewers would take control, scoring the game’s next 10 points. By halftime, the lead ballooned to 24 points, with Vassar heading to the locker room leading 54-30.
Fine shooting by Winton at 5-7, Taft at 4-6, Kiefer at 2-2, reigning Liberty League rookie-of-the-week, freshman forward Lawrence Avitabile (Southington, CT/ Southington) at 4-6 keyed the run. Reserve freshman guard Daniel Forcella (Falmouth, ME/ Falmouth) came off the bench to score seven straight points. For the first half, Vassar shot a blistering 55 percent (21-38) while Purchase found the iron less forgiving, at 37% (13-35).
The second half was more of the same, as Vassar head coach Mike Dutton cleared the bench after a few minutes. The main beneficiaries were sophomore forward Evan Hannay (Longmeadow, MA/ Longmeadow) with 8 points and 2 rebounds, sophomore guard Ross Weingarten (Washington DC/ Georgetown Day) with 7 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists, and senior forward Aldis Butler (Larkspur, CA/ University) with 6 rebounds. The Brewers’ second team stretched the lead to 37 by the time the final horn sounded. Avitabile (2 reb, 3 assists) and Taft (6 reb, 2 assists, 2 steals) tied for the team-high with 16 points while Winton (3 assists) added 12 points.
“It was a great team effort, everyone contributed,” said Dutton. “I’m proud of the way we competed and we got a lot of guys valuable experience that’s going to help us heading into conference play.”
Vassar opens Liberty League play this weekend, with games on Friday night and Saturday afternoon at Skidmore and Union.
SUNY-PURCHASE vs Vassar 01/10/05 7:00 at Poughkeepsie, NY VASSAR 97, SUNY-PURCHASE 60 SUNY-PURCHASE (5-6) Benny Rupel 8-18 3-8 19; Adam Kalker 4-9 1-2 10; Carlton Wilson 4-5 1-1 9; A. Henderson-Amare 3-10 0-0 8; Jaison Correa-Spain 3-4 0-0 7; Jamal Ien 1-4 1-1 3; Dan Minieri 1-3 0-0 2; Fred Gibson 1-3 0-0 2; Chad Charney 0-4 0-0 0; Julian Bass 0-1 0-0 0; Peter Tambakis 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 25-65 6-14 60. VASSAR (6-3) Lawrence Avitabile 6-8 4-4 16; Seth Taft 6-9 0-0 16; Judson Winton 5-9 0-0 12; William Kieffer 3-4 2-2 8; Evan Hannay 4-6 0-0 8; Will Byrne 3-12 0-1 8; Ross Weingarten 1-3 5-7 7; Daniel Forcella 3-5 0-0 7; Rob Dauster 1-4 2-2 5; Tyson Brazell 1-3 2-2 4; Joe Ward 2-5 0-0 4; Kyle Magnus 1-2 0-0 2; Kyle Dickmann 0-2 0-0 0; Jonathan Swartz 0-1 0-1 0; Aldis Butler 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 36-76 15-19 97. SUNY-PURCHASE................. 30 30 - 60 Vassar........................ 54 43 - 97 3-point goals-SUNY-PURCHASE 4-16 (A. Henderson-Amare 2-3; Adam Kalker 1-2; Jaison Correa-Spain 1-1; Chad Charney 0-3; Julian Bass 0-1; Peter Tambakis 0-4; Jamal Ien 0-1; Benny Rupel 0-1), Vassar 10-32 (Seth Taft 4-7; Will Byrne 2-10; Judson Winton 2-5; Rob Dauster 1-4; Daniel Forcella 1-2; Joe Ward 0-2; Kyle Dickmann 0-1; Jonathan Swartz 0-1). Fouled out--SUNY-PURCHASE-None, Vassar-None. Rebounds-SUNY-PURCHASE 41 (Benny Rupel 7), Vassar 47 (Kyle Magnus 6; William Kieffer 6; Seth Taft 6; Aldis Butler 6; Tyson Brazell 6). Assists-SUNY-PURCHASE 15 (Adam Kalker 6), Vassar 21 (William Kieffer 3; Lawrence Avitabile 3; Judson Winton 3). Total fouls-SUNY-PURCHASE 20, Vassar 16. A-45