Vassar Brewers Triumph Over McDaniel 88-55

Jan 1, 2020

The Vassar men’s basketball team outscored McDaniel 50-21 in the second half, eventually defeating the Green Terror 88-55 in the opening round of the CUNYAC vs. Cancer Tournament held at Lehman College on Saturday evening. Vassar Brewers Kyle Kappes is pictured above. Photo: C. Stockton

BRONX – The Vassar men’s basketball team outscored McDaniel 50-21 in the second half, eventually defeating the Green Terror 88-55 in the opening round of the CUNYAC vs. Cancer Tournament held at Lehman College on Saturday evening. The win snaps a three-game losing streak, and the Brewers move to 3-5 overall. With the loss, McDaniel drops to 4-5 overall.

Five Brewers scored in double digits, with junior Zach Bromfeld leading the way with 15 points and five rebounds. First-year Kevin McAuliffe netted a career-high 14 points behind 4-of-5 three-point shooting, while freshman Jack Rothenberg also had a career-best 13 points.

After the Green Terror opened on a 6-0 run, a triple from McAuliffe split the lead to three. McDaniel went up 16-7 after a Stephen Lang three, but Rothenberg answered right away with his trey to cut the lead to six. The teams went back-and-forth until a trip from Neville Lee cut the lead to 20-15.

A 10-2 Vassar run eventually gave the Brewers their first lead at 3:30. McDaniel retied the game at 29-29, but layups from Lance Tebay and Bromfeld pushed the score to 33-29. The Brewers maintained the lead until the end of the half, with McAuliffe sinking a three-pointer with eight seconds left to make it 38-34.

Vassar held their lead in the second half, opening on a 10-2 run. At 15:16, Kyle Kappes dished the ball to McAuliffe for the open three, which pushed the lead to 53-38. The Brewers kept rolling, taking a 20-point lead at 11:39 when Tebay made the layup off a Joey Sacco assist. The Green Terror never pulled back, and Vassar held on for the win.

In addition to Bromfeld, McAuliffe, and Rothenberg, Avni Mustafaj and Zach Johnson each had 11 points. Kappes netted six points, while sophomore Oliver Moody tallied a career-high six points. Three Brewers in Bromfeld, Johnson, and Rothenberg had five boards.

As a team, Vassar shot 33-of-61 (54.1 percent) from the field and 11-of-19 (57.9 percent) from beyond the arc. The Brewers were also 73.3 percent for free throws.