Senior Tyson Brazell and Lawrence Avitabile combined for 35 points, but the Vassar’s men’s basketball team saw its 2007-08 season end last week in opening round play of the ECAC Upstate Championship. Host St. John Fisher, the No. 4 seed, withstood a furious second half comeback by the No. 5 seed Brewers to win 68-65 on March 5. Vassar ended its season 18-8.
Fisher (17-11) held a 19-point lead with only 11 minutes to play, but the Brewers outscored the Cardinals 24-8 over the remainder of the contest. Despite that effort, Vassar was unable to take the lead.
Vassar’s impressive run brought the Brewers to within one point, 66-65, with 45 seconds to play, but a lay-up 14 seconds later by Ozell Franklin gave the Cardinals the three-point win.
Brazell attempted a 3-pointer at the buzzer, but the shot came up short and wide.
Vassar careers end
Fisher trailed 20-19 midway through the first half, but went on an 11-2 run to take the lead for good. All 11 points were scored by Isaiah Smalt, Matt Newman and Will Cornett. The trio combined to score Fisher’s next 13 points as well. Newman finished with 12 points, while Cornett and Smalt each added 10, as did Chris Baltz.
Brazell and Joe Davis each scored 10 points in the second half to pace the Brewers’ attempted comeback, and finished with 18 and 14 points, respectively. Avitabile, who chipped in with 17 points, also grabbed a team-best five rebounds. Avitabile finished his Vassar career with 1,484 points, second-best in school history. His 812 rebounds rank third.