Vassar Scores 74-63 Road Triumph Over Clarkson

By Steven Merritt

POTSDAM – Sophomore Sebastian Medina registered his second career double-double and three other Brewers finished with double digit points as the Vassar College Men’s Basketball team earned a hard-fought 74-63 road conference victory over Clarkson on Saturday afternoon.

Saturday’s win pushes Vassar to 7-5 overall and 3-2 in Liberty League action while the Golden Knights drop to 8-5 overall and 4-2 in conference action.

First Half
Clarkson began the game with an 8-2 lead as Braeden Burns tallied the first eight points for the Golden Knights in the first two minutes of action.

The Brewers battled back to take its first lead of the game on a jumper from sophomore Avery Lee to make it 19-17 at the 12:34 mark.

A layup from Finn Cork pushed the Golden Knights ahead 24-21 with 8:55 remaining in the half before buckets from Lee and senior Alex Walters along with two free throws from sophomore Shea Fitzgerald to regain the lead at 27-24.

Medina’s jumper kept the Brewers ahead by four at 31-27 with 5:18 left in the opening half.

Clarkson closed the first half on a 9-0 run over the final four minutes, led by four points from Cork, to take a 36-31 lead following the opening 20 minutes of play.

Vassar shot 41.2-percent overall in the first half while being limited to just 1-for-9 from the three-point line.

The Golden Knights closed the opening half shooting an even 40-percent overall and finished 4-for-13 from three.

Second Half
The Brewers evened the game at 40 all following a 9-4 run to begin the second half, led by six points from Denham.

A three-pointer from Burns regained a 51-47 lead for the Golden Knights with 12:19 remaining until VC tied the score at 51 all on a dunk from Denham.

Following a bucket from Cork to put Clarkson ahead by two, Vassar reeled off an 11-4 run to go ahead 62-57 on a three-pointer from Fitzgerald at the 6:43 mark.

The Golden Knights trimmed the advantage down to 63-61 on a lay-in from Lorenzo Rappa with 5:05 remaining.

Over the final five minutes, the Brewers outscored Clarkson 11-2 on eight points from Fitgzerald to propel Vassar to its third Liberty League win of the season.

VC ended the second half of play shooting 41.5-percent overall and knocked down five three-pointers.

Clarkson was limited to 34.5-percent from the field, including just 5-for-17 from behind the arc.

For The Brewers
Medina led the way with a double-double with 11 points, a team-high 13 rebounds and four assists while Fitzgerald poured in a team-high 22 points, seven boards, four steals and three assists.

Lee added 18 points and two helpers along with Denham recording 12 points, three boards and two steals.

Walters and senior Luke Adams each chipped in four points off the bench.

For The Golden Knights
Cork put together a double-double of his own with 21 points and 19 rebounds along with four assists.

Burns registered a game-high 24 points while Jack Dalgety supplied six points and three boards.

Steve DeRegis added six points along with Matteo Sinon handing out three assists.