News Release

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY — Vassar's men's basketball team sank eight of its first 11 attempts from three-point range in the first half and used this sizzling shooting to propel them to an 73-61 win over New York City Tech in a non-conference game Tuesday evening at the Athletic & Fitness Center.

Sophomore guard Daniel Forcella (Falmouth, ME/Falmouth) led the long distance shooting with a 4-of-5 effort from beyond the arc to finish with a Brewer-high 12 points.

Sophomore forward Lawrence Avitabile (Southington, CT/Southington) was also in double figurers for the Brewers with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Forcella, freshman guard Brian Butterworth (Hamilton, MA/Hamilton-Wenham) and senior guard Will Byrne (Chelmsford, MA/Concord Academy) combined for four consecutive three pointers midway thru the first half to help the Brewers build a 21-9 lead with 10:20 remaining in the half.

Forcella's fourth three pointer of the half came with 4:49 remaining as Vassar doubled up New York City Tech 32-16.

Eight different players scored for Vassar in the first half to lead a 61 percent (16-of-26) shooting effort from the field.

Vassar (9-6) led by as many as 24 in the second half before the Yellow Jackets used an 18-4 run to trim the Vassar advantage to 57-47 with eight minutes remaining. Freshman guard Jamaal Hall (Brooklyn, NY/Benjamin Banneker) helped lead the New York City Tech surge scoring eight of his 10 points during the Yellow Jackets run.

Vassar then outscored New York City Tech 12-6 over the next four minutes to build a comfortable 69-53 lead with 4:25 to play.

New York City Tech (5-12), which had its two-game winning streak stopped, was led by junior forward Otis Saylee (New York, NY/Seward Park) who finished with a game-high 21 points and 10 rebounds.

Vassar will jump back into its league schedule on Friday (Jan. 27) against Skidmore College at 8:00 p.m. in Saratoga Springs, NY.

New York City Tech vs VASSAR
1/24/06 7:00 pm at Poughkeepsie, NY
At Poughkeepsie, NY
VASSAR 73, NEW YORK CITY TECH 61
NEW YORK CITY TECH (5-12)
Saylee, Otis 6-13 9-12 21; Hall, Jamaal 4-14 2-4 10; Hanley, Kareem 4-12 1-2 10; Cabbagestalk, Danul 3-7 0-0 6; Forteau, Clyde 3-15 0-3 6; Mahoney, Omar 2-4 0-0 5; Hall, Kevin 1-2 0-0 2; Yaya, Issaka 0-5 1-2 1. Totals 23-72 13-23 61.

VASSAR (9-6)
Daniel Forcella 4-5 0-0 12; Lawrence Avitabile 2-3 6-6 10; Joe Davis 3-6 2-3 9; William Kieffer 4-8 1-2 9; Brian Butterworth 2-5 2-2 7; Tyson Brazell 2-4 2-4 7; Will Byrne 2-5 0-0 5; Lenny Holt 2-3 0-0 4; Kyle Magnus 1-1 2-2 4; Rob Dauster 1-1 0-0 3; Evan Hannay 1-1 1-1 3; Joe Ward 0-0 0-0 0; Tom Driscoll 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-43 16-20 73.

New York City Tech............   23   38  -   61
VASSAR........................   43   30  -   73
3-point goals-New York City Tech 2-15 (Mahoney, Omar 1-2; Hanley, Kareem 1-5; Forteau, Clyde 0-3; Hall, Jamaal 0-5), VASSAR 9-16 (Daniel Forcella 4-5; Tyson Brazell 1-1; Rob Dauster 1-1; Brian Butterworth 1-4; Joe Davis 1-1; Will Byrne 1-4). Fouled out--New York City Tech-None, VASSAR-None.
Rebounds-New York City Tech 32 (Saylee, Otis 10), VASSAR 44 (Lawrence Avitabile 11). Assists-New York City Tech 11 (Hall, Jamaal 5), VASSAR 18 (Daniel Forcella 6). Total fouls-New York City Tech 19, VASSAR 21. A-300