Hot Shooting Propels Vassar to Victory Over Cortland

By Steven Merritt

MIDDLEBURY, VT – Sophomore Shea Fitzgerald matched his career-high with 34 points for the second straight contest and earned All-Tournament Team honors as the Vassar College Men’s Basketball team triumphed over Cortland 89-75 in the second game of the Middlebury Invitational on Saturday afternoon. The win pushes Vassar to 6-4 overall while the Red Dragons drop to 2-7 on the season.

First Half
Vassar raced out to a 7-0 lead in the opening minutes as Fitzgerald scored the first five points followed by a lay-in from junior Nathan Denham.

Cortland answered with a 16-3 run to take a 16-10 lead with 12:10 remaining in the opening half as Kendall Arcuri led the way with seven points.

Joel Davis’ lay-in with 9:35 remaining kept the Red Dragons ahead by five before the Brewers battled back to take a one point lead on a triple from senior Alex Walters at the 8:05 mark.

Two free throws from Jaylen Warmack evened the game at 32 with 3:47 remaining in the opening half.

The Brewers closed the half on a 7-2 run as sophomore Avery Lee’s jumper at the horn put Vassar ahead 39-34.

VC finished the opening half shooting 55.2-percent overall while going 3-for-9 from three and 4-for-6 from the free throw line.

Cortland ended the first half shooting 45.2-percent from the field and went just 1-for-10 from three and 5-for-8 from the free throw stripe.

Second Half
The Brewers opened the second half on a 16-2 run as five different Brewers scored a bucket with a three-pointer from Walters put Vassar ahead 55-38 with 14:18 left in the half.

Vassar’s lead stayed as high as 16 throughout the middle stages of the half as a free throw from Denham and a lay-in from junior JP Miranda extended the lead to 62-46 with 10:49 remaining.

Cortland battled back to get within eight on a triple from Gaige Armbrewster at the 7:16 mark before the Brewers used a lay-in from sophomore Sebastian Medina to push the advantage back to 12 at the 6:31 mark.

The Red Dragons could only get as close as 10 on another triple from Armbrewster with 3:52 remaining.

Vassar’s lead grew to as many as 14 in the final minutes as two free throws from Fitzgerald put the Brewers ahead 83-69 with just under two minutes remaining.

Back-to-back jumpers from junior Sacha Greenberg in the final minute for Vassar as the Brewers posted its sixth victory of the season.

VC closed the second half shooting 57.1-percent overall while shooting 2-for-6 from three and 16-for-18 from the free throw line.

The Red Dragons finished the second 20 minutes shooting 44.8-percent from the field, including 6-for-11 from three, and 9-for-13 from the free throw line.

For The Brewers
Fitzgerald scored 34 points for the second straight outing on 8-for-15 shooting and connected on 16-for-17 from the free throw line. He also increased his conference-leading points per game average to 23.3 and ranks in the top-20 nationally.

Lee tallied 15 points, two assists and two boards while sophomore Kreekor Karageuzian posted six points, seven boards and two assists.

Denham recorded five points and a team-high seven rebounds along with Medina supplying six points, six rebounds, three blocks and two helpers.

For The Red Dragons
Davis led the way with 19 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two steals off the bench.

Arcuri added 14 points, three boards, two assists and two steals along with Armbrewster recording 12 points.