LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. - A solid first half helped the Vassar College men's basketball team to a 73-56 win over No. 23 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) on Friday evening at the UHY Center on the campus of Siena College. This marks the first victory over the Engineers since 2018 for the Brewers, who are now 11-4 overall with a 7-2 mark in the Liberty League. RPI slips to 11-2 and 5-1 in the conference.

Vassar only trailed once in the first half when RPI took a 4-3 lead, but a wide-open three-pointer by junior Zach Johnson at 16:58 gave the Brewers the advantage. The Engineers' tied 8-8 after Will Rubin scored a layup, but junior Avni Mustafaj netted five straight points. After scoring the following four points, Rubin kept RPI close, making it 13-12.

Midway through the half was when Vassar took control. After Johnson scored at 11:10 from a Kevin McAuliffe pass, the Brewers closed the half on a 24-7 run. McAuliffe drained two triples during that span, while Mustafaj hit another trey at 0:46 to give Vassar a 37-19 lead at the break. The Vassar defense only allowed three RPI players to score and did not allow a single Engineers' three-pointer.

In the second half, Ethan Ellis sank a three less than a minute into the frame to push the lead to 21 points, but RPI's Patrick Mahoney responded with a three at 18:27 to begin a 7-0 run. Johnson broke the streak after converting a layup, making the score 42-26.

RPI slowly kept chipping away, eventually cutting the Vassar lead to 13-points following a Mahoney layup at 15:18. Mustafaj countered, scoring the next seven Vassar points for a 51-31 lead at 13:07. After Alan Cedeno (Cape Coral, FL) scored on a three-point play from an and-one, scoring on both sides slowed down.

Shooting fouls allowed the Engineers to work their way back, but time was not on RPI's side. A free throw from Dom Black made it a 15-point game but only 1:43 remained.

Mustafaj led the Brewers with 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting (.692 percent) with three made triples, five rebounds, and three assists. Johnson had 17 points and nine rebounds, while Luke Adams (Leawood, KS) recorded a career-high 10 points and seven boards.

Mahoney scored 23 points with seven rebounds for the Engineers, while Black had 15 points with five rebounds and three steals. Rubin finished with 14 points and seven caroms for RPI, which shot just 15.4 percent from beyond the arc and was out-rebounded 38-28.

RPI looks to bounce back on Sunday at 3pm when it hosts league foe Skidmore College at East Campus Arena. Vassar returns to action on Saturday, facing Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson at 4pm.