Vassar Upended By RPI In Final Road Game of Season

Feb 13, 2019

Lance Tebay finished with 13 points and six boards as the Vassar College men’s basketball team dropped a 66-54 decision to RPI. Photo: C. Stockton

TROY – In its final road game of the season, the Vassar College men’s basketball team (10-13, 6-10 Liberty) dropped a 66-54 decision to RPI (13-10, 8-8 Liberty) at ECAV Arena on Saturday afternoon. With the loss, the Brewers were eliminated from postseason contention.
Vassar scored the first six points of the contest and held a 14-8 advantage with 12:26 left in the first half. RPI responded with an 8-0 run to pull in front before a Zach Bromfeld layup tied it at 16-16 with 9:18 remaining until halftime. The Engineers countered with a 17-3 spurt, though, to build a 33-19 cushion. RPI’s lead was 11 points, 36-25, at the break.

After RPI opened up its largest advantage of the game, a 46-29 cushion with 15:11 to go, the Brewers rallied for 15 of the next 19 points to pull within six, 50-44. However, the Engineers pushed the margin back to 13 points, 61-48, at the 3:47 mark before closing out a 66-54 victory.

Bromfeld paced Vassar with 14 points, and he added five rebounds. Lance Tebay finished with 13 points and six boards, while Alex Seff had 13 points and five rebounds. Paul Grinde also grabbed five boards, as the Brewers held a 33-23 edge on the glass. Vassar shot 51.1 percent (24-of-47) from the field, 21.4 percent (3-of-14) from downtown, and 60 percent (3-of-5) at the free throw line.

Four Engineers reached double-figures in the scoring column, led by Tom Horvat’s 17 points.

He also registered five assists and four steals. Mitchel Wayand tallied 15 points and five rebounds, while Marcus Giesse contributed 12 points, five boards, three assists and three steals. Patrick Mahoney added 11 points and three assists for RPI, which shot 42.6 percent (23-of-54) from the floor. The Engineers went 12-for-29 (41.4 percent) from long range and 8-for-11 (72.7 percent) at the charity stripe.

The Brewers conclude the 2018-19 campaign with a pair of home games this weekend. Vassar welcomes Hobart (14-9, 11-5 Liberty) to the Athletic & Fitness Center at 7 p.m. on Friday. When the teams met on Dec. 1, the Brewers notched a 75-72 win, their first-ever road victory over the Statesmen.