Both Winton (San Franciso, CA/University) and Byrne (Chelmsford, MA/Concord Academy) registered career-highs and were named to the All-Tournament Team. The architect of many of those baskets was senior guard Seth Taft (Philadelphia, PA/Abington Friends), who dished out a career-high 12 assists and was also named to the All-Tournament Team.
The Brewers had a hot shooting hand to start the game and stayed that way throughout. Vassar was a sizzling 13-26 from three-point line and nearly 52 percent from the floor for the game.
"Shooting has been one of our strong points," said Vassar head coach Mike Dutton. "Against Mount Saint Mary's we reduced our turnovers in a championship game in front of a big crowd. We clearly played our best game of the season. What's especially nice is that as a team we were coming off a tough loss to Manhattanville and the kids stepped up."
For the game, Winton was 10 of 15 from the field (4 of 6 on 3-pointers) and Byrne 7 of 11 and 6 of 8 on 3-pointers.
Vassar held a commanding lead off the boards, as well, out-rebounding Mount St. Mary's 39-29. Junior forward Will Kieffer (Chappaqua, NY/Horace Greely) led the way with 8 boards and freshman guard Tyson Brazell(Salt Lake City, UT/Waterford) had six rebounds.
The first half was a see-saw affair that saw Vassar hold a 38-31 lead with 2:48 until halftime. Mount St. Mary's chipped away, but Vassar led 40-36. At the start of the second half, the Brewers extended the lead to 50-40, on two baskets by freshman guard Lawrence Avitabile (Southington, CT/Southington) and a pair of three-points by Byrne and Judson. Avitabile continued his impressive shooting, 4 of 6 from the floor, and is shooting .733 for the season.
Despite Mount Saint Mary's size advantage, Vassar was able to maintain its lead throughout the second half due to torrid shooting. With 5:23 to play, Vassar had mounted a 10-4 run that produced the biggest lead of the game, 78-64. Vassar would have two other 14-point leads, 86-72 with 2:10 remaining and 90-76 with :46 seconds left.
Mount Saint Mary's got a 31 point outing from guard Mike Hoyt and a 23-point evening from Sergio Guzman.
Vassar (3-2) now plays two games in New York before semester break. The Brewers face John Jay Friday night and New York Tech on Sunday afternoon.
Vassar College vs Mount Saint Mary College 12/01/04 8:00 p.m. at Newburgh, NY VASSAR COLLEGE 95, MOUNT SAINT MARY COLLEGE 83 VASSAR COLLEGE (3-2) Judson Winton 10-15 1-2 25; Will Byrne 7-11 0-0 20; Seth Taft 2-12 4-4 9; William Kieffer 4-7 0-0 8; Lawrence Avitabile 4-6 0-0 8; Tyson Brazell 2-6 4-4 8; Daniel Forcella 2-4 2-2 8; Kyle Dickmann 3-5 1-2 7; Kyle Magnus 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 35-68 12-14 95. MOUNT SAINT MARY COLLEGE (2-2) Mike Hoyt 9-18 12-15 31; Sergio Guzman 9-14 5-6 23; Brandon Weldon 5-12 0-0 12; Kenny Lane 4-10 2-2 10; J.D. Fogarty 1-2 2-2 5; Roberto King 1-5 0-0 2; C.J. Burdett 0-1 0-0 0; Jason Cardez 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 29-65 21-25 83. Vassar College................ 40 55 - 95 Mount Saint Mary College...... 36 47 - 83 3-point goals-Vassar College 13-26 (Will Byrne 6-8; Judson Winton 4-6; Daniel Forcella 2-4; Seth Taft 1-7; Tyson Brazell 0-1), Mount Saint Mary College 4-12 (Brandon Weldon 2-4; J.D. Fogarty 1-1; Mike Hoyt 1-4; Roberto King 0-2; Jason Cardez 0-1). Fouled out--Vassar College-None, Mount Saint Mary College-None. Rebounds-Vassar College 39 (William Kieffer 8), Mount Saint Mary College 29 (Sergio Guzman 8). Assists-Vassar College 24 (Seth Taft 12), Mount Saint Mary College 14 (Brandon Weldon 7). Total fouls-Vassar College 19, Mount Saint Mary College 16. A-550 Hudson Valley Shootout/Frank Lospitalier Classic championship game at MSMC.