The Brewers, who were searching for their first-ever win against Hobart since joining the Liberty League in 2000, came precariously close to victory. Vassar is now 7-3, 0-1 on the season, while Hobart improves to 5-5, 1-0. The Brewers will meet Hamilton on Saturday afternoon at 4:00 pm in the second game of the Liberty League weekend.
The Brewers received a career-high 29 points from sophomore forward Lawrence Avitabile (Southington, CT/Southington), whose missed 3-pointer as time expired would have given VC the victory in regulation when the game was tied 74-74. VC also got 13 points and six rebounds from junior center Will Kieffer (Chappaqua, NY/Horace Greely) and 12 points from sophomore Tyson Brazell (Salt Lake City, UT/Waterford School), who had missed the previous two games with an injury.
Overtime was an up hill battle for the Brewers. Vassar tied Hobart 77-77 with 3:06 to play in overtime, but the Statesmen were able to control the extra session, getting big baskets by senior forward Tom Apuzzo (Cumberland, ME/Greely), layups from sophomore forward Dan O'Grady (East Norwich, NY/St. Dominic's), senior guard Joe Virgillio (East Willston, NY/Wheatley) and four consecutive free throws from Frederic to build an 87-80 margin with 23 seconds to play.
The Brewers were able to pull within four (87-83) on a 3-pointer by freshman Brian Butterworth (Hamilton, MA/Hamilton-Wenham) with :14 seconds to play, but Frederic and Virgillio sealed the Hobart victory by making two free throws each down the stretch.
The second half featured 13 lead changes, seven ties and a wild finish that saw each team make clutch plays down the stretch.
After trailing 39-36 at halftime, the Brewers were able to build a 5-point lead (60-55) and several 3-point leads, the last being 72-69 following a Brazell layup, only to have the Statesmen even the game each time and even take several 2-point leads themselves.
With 51 seconds to play and the Brewers holding a 72-71 lead, Hobart's Frederic canned a huge 3-pointer to give the Statesmen a 74-72 lead. Following a Vassar timeout, Kieffer tied the game (74-74) on a layup with 29 seconds to play and was fouled. He missed the free throw, but Hobart turned the ball over with 6 seconds to play, affording VC a chance.
Following a Vassar timeout to set up a final play, Avitabile missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer as time expired.
In the first half, sparked by a 15-point performance by Avitabile and six points by Kieffer, VC jumped out of the gates with a flurry, building a 25-13 lead at the 10 minute mark. Hobart methodically picked away at Vassar with a 14-point effort by senior guard Colby Feane. The native of Weedsport, NY had 24 points for the game, followed by Virgillio with 17 points.
The Brewers clung to a 28-22 lead at the 7:58 mark of the first half and then Hobart made its move, holding VC without a basket for the next 5:26. It wasn't until junior forward Evan Hannay (Longmeadow, MA/Longmeadow) connected on a 3-point play that the Brewers were able to stop an 8-0 Hobart run that had provided the Statesmen with a 34-31 lead.
With 5:24 to play, Hobart's Apuzzo connected on the first of two straight baskets to bring the Statesmen within a bucket at 28-26. Hobart tied the game at 28-28 on a layup by junior guard Mike Manning (Mastic, NY/Center Moriches) at 3:55 and took its first lead of the first half, 30-28, on a jumper by Feane (Weedsport, NY/Weedsport) with 3:31 to play. Manning connected on a bucket in the paint following a VC turnover for a 32-28 lead.
Hobart scored two points on a VC technical and extended the lead to 36-31 on a Feane layup. Avitabile answered with his own layup, cutting the margin to 36-33. Feane then connected on a 3-point play for a 39-33 Hobart lead but Hannay answered right back with his second straight 3-point play, cutting the margin to 39-36, which ended the first half.
Vassar College vs Hobart College 01-13-06 8 p.m. at Bristol Gym, Geneva, N.Y. At Bristol Gym, Geneva, N.Y. HOBART COLLEGE 91, VASSAR COLLEGE 83 VASSAR COLLEGE (7-3, 0-1 Liberty) Lawrence Avitabile 11-22 7-8 29; William Kieffer 6-9 1-5 13; Tyson Brazell 4-8 4-4 12; Evan Hannay 3-3 2-3 8; Daniel Forcella 2-6 0-0 6; Brian Butterworth 2-5 0-0 6; Will Byrne 2-7 0-0 5; Joe Davis 0-2 2-2 2; Tom Driscoll 1-1 0-0 2; Rob Dauster 0-1 0-0 0; Lenny Holt 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-64 16-22 83. HOBART COLLEGE (5-5, 1-0 Liberty) Colby Feane 8-14 8-10 24; Joe Virgilio 6-12 5-5 17; Tim Apuzzo 7-10 1-3 15; Adam Frederic 2-4 6-6 11; Mike Manning 5-8 0-0 10; John Grazioli 2-6 1-2 5; Dan O'Grady 2-2 0-2 4; Mike Mastro 2-5 0-0 4; Rob Genovese 0-1 1-2 1; Doug Murphy 0-1 0-0 0; Kevin Riley 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-63 22-30 91. Vassar College................ 36 38 9 - 83 Hobart College................ 39 35 17 - 91 3-point goals-Vassar College 5-20 (Daniel Forcella 2-6; Brian Butterworth 2-5; Will Byrne 1-6; Rob Dauster 0-1; Tyson Brazell 0-1; Lawrence Avitabile 0-1), Hobart College 1-13 (Adam Frederic 1-3; Joe Virgilio 0-5; Mike Manning 0-2; Rob Genovese 0-1; Colby Feane 0-2). Fouled out--Vassar College-Lawrence Avitabile; William Kieffer; Evan Hannay, Hobart College-Mike Mastro; John Grazioli. Rebounds-Vassar College 32 (Lawrence Avitabile 8), Hobart College 36 (Mike Mastro 13). Assists-Vassar College 14 (Tyson Brazell 6), Hobart College 17 (Adam Frederic 4). Total fouls-Vassar College 28, Hobart College 25. A-175