Vassar Drops Close Contest at Clarkson

POTSDAM – The Vassar men’s basketball team dropped another close Liberty League contest, falling to Clarkson, 84-77, on Saturday afternoon.

With the loss, the Brewers drop to 5-13 overall and 4-7 in conference play.

Liam Ellis poured in a game-high 36 points for the Golden Knights and led them on the glass, grabbing nine boards. Jesse Browne was the high scorer for the Brewers as he tallied 21 points, five assists, and four rebounds. Paul Grinde chipped in 16 and eight off the bench while Lance Tebay had 13 and seven.

The game was deadlocked at 40-40 after the first 20 minutes and it all came down to the second half between the Brewers and Golden Knights.

Browne and Grinde each had strong second halves both recording 11 points in the frame.

Vassar took the early advantage in the stanza, jumping out to a four point lead thanks to a layup from Tebay. But at the 16:28 mark, the game was all square at 44-44. Clarkson then pushed ahead, but Vassar stormed back to tie the game at 61-61 thanks to a Grinde layup that tied the game.

After Clarkson pushed their lead to six, Vassar got back within one. But the Golden Knights knocked down six consecutive free-throws to ice the game and claim the league win.

The Brewers shot the ball well on the afternoon going 26-61 from the floor and 9-21 from downtown. But the Golden Knights were just a touch better, hitting 26-63 from the field. At the free-throw line, Clarkson held the advantage shooting 84.2%, converting on 16-19 attempts.

Vassar returns home next weekend when they host Bard and Union on Friday and Saturday in the AFC.