News Release

TROY, N.Y. — TROY, N.Y. – St. Lawrence University shot 53.6% in the second half while holding Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) to 26.9% to overcome an eight-point halftime deficit and defeat the Red Hawks, 73-68, in a Liberty League contest at Robison Gym. The first place Saints, who made 15-of-28 shots after the break, improve to 6-8 overall and 4-0 in the league. RPI, which made 7-of-26 second half shots, falls to 5-10 and 3-2.

St. Lawrence erased Rensselaer’s 42-34 halftime lead by scoring the first 11 points of the second half to go ahead, 45-42. The game remained close throughout the remainder of the second half - neither team went in front by more than four points until the final five-point margin.

Freshman forward Bela Vonnak (Canajoharie, NY/Canajoharie) led the Saints with game-highs of 23 points and 15 rebounds, including seven offensive. He also had an assist, a block and a steal in 29 minutes. Classmate Tom Wopperer (Manlius, NY/Fayetteville-Manlius), a guard, added 14 points with three rebounds (1 offensive), an assist and a steal.

Senior forward Tom Schneider (Nashua, NH/Bishop Guertin) paced the homestanding Red Hawks with 20 points and nine rebounds (2 off.) – both team-highs. He also had three assists and a block in 39 minutes. Matt Zepernick (Northport, NY/Northport), another senior forward, added 14 points and seven rebounds (4 off.) for Rensselaer, which saw its three-game winning streak snapped.

Rensselaer returns to action on Friday night at Liberty League foe Union College while St. Lawrence next plays on Tuesday when it hosts Clarkson University in a league contest. Both games begin at 8pm.