Box Score

TROY, N.Y. – Junior Luka Ladan scored a game-high 26 points to lead the Vassar College men's basketball team to a, 100-83, victory over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), this evening at East Campus Arena. With the win, the Brewers improve to 14-3 overall (6-2 Liberty League), while the Engineers drop to 6-11 (4-4 Liberty League).

Ladan (Belmont, MA/Belmont) scored 16 of his 26 points in the first half on 5 of 8 shooting from the floor. Vassar held a 10-point lead (23-13) seven minutes in, before free throws from RPI sophomores Chase Almond (South Kingstown, RI/South Kingstown) and Tyler Gendron (Merrimack, NH/Merrimack) cut the host's deficit to 23-16.

The Engineers continued to chip into the Vassar lead, pulling to within 40-37 with 1:50 remaining in the first half, on a triple by sophomore Will Lewis (Potomac, MD/Winston Churchhill)

Vassar closed out the half an 8-3 run to take a 48-40 advantage to the break.

The Brewers continued to shoot at a high clip in the second stanza, connecting on 55.9% (19 for 34) of their field goal attempts. Junior Alex Snyder netted 13 of his 15 points in just nine minutes of the second half, shooting 6 of 9 from the field.

The visitors' lead hung around the 10 points until the 4:09 mark, when a 13-0 Vassar run seemingly put the game away. RPI senior captain Nick Keefe (Rensselaer, NY/Columbia) halted the spurt on a lay-up with 12:03 to play, making it 68-51.

RPI was resilient, fighting back to within six points (72-66) with 8:38 left, but didn't get closer than seven the rest of the way.

Aiding Ladan offensively was sophomore Eriskon Wasyl (Durham, CT/Cogchaug), who netted 21 points on 8 of 10 shooting from the floor. He was 4 of 5 from three-point range. Classmate Johnny Mrlik (San Francisco, CA/St. Ingnatius College Prep.) added 17 points and 11 rebounds.

The Engineers saw junior Josh Dugas (Monroe, CT/St. Luke's) score 14 points and four rebounds. Sophomore Nash Widowski (Macedonia, OH/Western Reserve Academy) recorded a career-high 13 points, to go along with six rebounds. Classmates Jesus Cardenas (Phoenix, AZ/Apollo) and Brian Hatcher (Danbury, CT/Immaculate) each had 11 points.

Rensselaer is back on the court on Friday night, when it hosts area-rival Union College at East Campus Arena (8pm). Vassar is idle until next Tuesday, when it travels to Bard (8pm).