Forcella, a reserve guard averaging just 2.4 points per game, matched his career high with eight points, on two three-pointers and a layup, taking over the game for five minutes. The first three-ball came with 8:07 left in the second half to draw the Brewers within 1 at 55-54. After a missed jumper by St. Lawrences Pat Delmonico (10 pts, 7 rebs, 2 assists), Forcella found a streaking Lawrence Avitabile (Southington, CT/Southington), whose layup gave Vassar their first lead since the first minute of the second half.
The Saints clanged iron their next time down, and the Brewers opened up a three-on-one break off the long-rebound. Winton (7 assists, 4 rebs) led Forcella with a perfect bounce pass, and the gutsy freshman lifted a high floater off the glass that swished though. Over the next three minutes, the Saints would retake the lead at 60-58, on a three-pointer by Keith Sullivan (10 pts, 5 rebs) and a layup by Delmonico, before Forcella stepped up again.
Sophomore forward William Kieffer (Chappaqua, NY/Horace Greely) found a wide-open Forcella with a lob pass and Forcellas high-arcing three-pointer was true, to halt the St. Lawrence momentum and put Vassar back on top at 61-60, a lead they would not relinquish. Avitabile (21 pts, 10 rebs, 4 blocks, 2 steals, 2 assists) put in a nice finger roll with two minutes left, off a great pass from senior guard Seth Taft (15 points, 4 rebs, 2 assists), though at "only" 8 for 16 from the field, his gaudy 67% field goal percentage did take a hit.
Sullivan hit another driving layup to pull St. Lawrence within two, but Vassar was able to hold on, as Evan Hannay followed up Wintons miss to put the Brewers up by four and effectively ice the game.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair, with neither team taking much control. At the 10-minute mark, the score was tied at 20, and the largest lead was 25-20 St. Lawrence. SLU held a slim 33-32 lead at halftime, leading up to the dramatic second half.
Despite shooting just 31.4% from the field, Vassar coach Mike Dutton was thrilled with the victory. "On nights when your shots don't fall you have to rely on your defense," Dutton said. In the second half we stepped up and got some stops. We were certainly not at our best from the three-point line, which has been our strength all year. Evan Hannay and Danny Forcella off the bench gave us a lift on both ends of the court. I'm really proud of the team effort."
Avitabile registered the game-high in scoring with 21 and blocks with 4. Kieffer tied for game-high in rebounds (11) with St. Lawrences Aaron Marshall (team-high 15 pts).
Tomorrow, Vassar looks to move above .500 in Liberty League play for the first time in school history against Clarkson, with tip off at 4pm.
St. Lawrence University vs Vassar 1/21/05 8:00 pm at Poughkeepsie, NY VASSAR 66, ST. LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY 62 ST. LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY (3-10, 1-2) Aaron Marshall 7-14 1-6 15; Pat Delmonico 4-15 2-3 10; Keith Sullivan 4-12 0-0 10; Matt Blue 3-11 0-0 8; Tyler Wright 3-6 0-0 6; Matt Lickfield 2-3 2-2 6; Tyler Shaver 2-6 0-0 5; Sebastian Kurtz 1-3 0-0 2; Mike Finn 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-71 5-11 62. VASSAR (8-5, 2-2) Lawrence Avitabile 8-16 5-9 21; Seth Taft 5-13 2-2 15; Will Byrne 3-15 0-0 9; Daniel Forcella 3-4 0-0 8; Evan Hannay 1-3 5-6 7; William Kieffer 2-4 1-2 5; Kyle Dickmann 0-2 1-2 1; Judson Winton 0-8 0-1 0; Tyson Brazell 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 22-70 14-22 66. St. Lawrence University....... 33 29 - 62 Vassar........................ 32 34 - 66 3-point goals-St. Lawrence University 5-28 (Keith Sullivan 2-9; Matt Blue 2-7; Tyler Shaver 1-5; Tyler Wright 0-1; Pat Delmonico 0-6), Vassar 8-34 (Seth Taft 3-9; Will Byrne 3-13; Daniel Forcella 2-3; Kyle Dickmann 0-1; Judson Winton 0-5; Tyson Brazell 0-3). Fouled out--St. Lawrence University-None, Vassar-None. Rebounds-St. Lawrence University 49 (Aaron Marshall 11), Vassar 47 (William Kieffer 11). Assists-St. Lawrence University 8 (Matt Blue 2; Pat Delmonico 2), Vassar 17 (Judson Winton 7). Total fouls-St. Lawrence University 15, Vassar 11. A-300