Brewers Edged By St. Lawrence, 70-62

CANTON – On Saturday afternoon, the Vassar College men’s basketball team concluded its nine-game road trip by visiting Liberty League rival St. Lawrence. The Brewers (5-7, 1-4 Liberty) rallied from a six-point halftime deficit to take the lead in the second half before the Saints (7-5, 4-1 Liberty) pulled away for a 70-62 victory at Burkman Gymnasium.

A Hugh Durham three-pointer put Vassar in front 8-7 six minutes into the contest, but St. Lawrence responded with a 9-2 run to open up a 16-10 advantage. After the Brewers cut their deficit to one at 20-19, the Saints rattled off eight straight points to extend the margin to nine, 32-23, with 2:07 left until halftime. Vassar scored the next five points before St. Lawrence got a layup from Ben Crawford just before time expired to take a 34-28 lead into the locker room.

The Brewers opened the second half on a 14-6 spurt, though, and went in front 42-40 on Steve Palecki’s layup with 15:01 remaining. A Kyle Kappes trey gave Vassar a 48-45 advantage at the 9:48 mark before St. Lawrence countered with a 16-4 spurt to regain a nine-point edge, 61-52. The Brewers got back within three at 63-60, but the Saints sank five consecutive free throws down the stretch to pull away for a 70-62 win.

With 12 points, Alex Seff paced the Brewers offensively for the fourth consecutive time. He also handed out three assists. Mason Dyslin finished with 10 points and eight rebounds, while Paul Grinde tallied 10 points, five boards and five assists. Kappes added nine points off the bench. As a team, Vassar shot 40 percent (22-of-55) from the field, 35.5 percent (11-of-31) from long range, and 53.8 percent (7-of-13) at the charity stripe.

Crawford had 17 points, 17 rebounds and three steals for St. Lawrence. Riley Naclerio recorded 13 points and five boards for the Saints, who held a 44-28 edge on the glass. Chris Miner, meanwhile, collected three blocks to go along with seven points. The Saints shot 40.4 percent (23-of-57) from the floor, 18.8 percent (3-of-16) from three-point land, and 87.5 percent (21-of-24) at the free throw line.

After playing nine straight away from home, the Brewers finally return to the Athletic & Fitness Center for the first time since Nov. 20 on Friday night. Vassar opens a seven-game homestand by taking on RPI (7-4, 2-2 Liberty) at 7 p.m.