POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - Down two at halftime at Vassar on Saturday, the Bard College men's basketball team needed a jolt of energy. There was definitely something missing.
Coach Adam Turner found it at halftime.
Bard came out pressing and trapping, catching Vassar off guard. It led to a 14-2 run, and Bard never relinquished the lead, earning a road victory, 73-67.
Both teams had shot 44 percent from the field in the first half, though Vassar was up 10 at one point. Bard used a 16-8 run to close out the first half and cut the deficit to two.
Bard's pressure to start the second half caused three Vassar turnovers and four missed field goals in the first three minutes, while Bard went on a 12-0 run. Bard's lead got as big as 52-41 with 13:25 left.
But the Brewers wouldn't go away. They outscored Bard 14-4 to cut the Raptors' lead to 56-55 with 8:44 remaining. That's when
Justyn Rogers took charge.
Rogers hit a three-pointer, then Bard got a block from
Alijah Rue on the other end, and Rogers hit a tough baseline jumper to make it 61-55. Vassar missed its next shot, and Rogers grabbed the rebound and led the break, feeding
David Runcie for an easy layup and a 63-55 lead. Rogers hit another three with four minutes left, then made 4-of-5 from the foul line in the final 42 seconds to clinch it. He scored 16 points in the second half alone.
Vassar got 18 points from Alex Seff (Arlington, VA) and 16 from Zach Bromfeld (Woodmere, NY). Chris Gallivan (East Walpole, MA) added 12 points and 10 rebounds, and 6-10 senior Paul Grinde (Virginia Beach, VA) finished with 10 points, all in the first half. Vassar fell to 7-10 overall, 3-7 in the Liberty League.
Rogers led Bard with 21 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Runcie contributed 15 points (11 in the second half) and four assists. Rue had 10 points, four assists and three steals,
Zack Jacobs had 10 points off the bench,
Jelani Bell-Isaac had eight points and eight rebounds, and
Stamatis Koulouris added seven points and eight rebounds. Bard got key minutes off the bench from
Merritt Miller and
Josh Etukudo to counter Vassar's size in the paint.
The Raptors improved to 9-7 overall and 5-4 in Liberty League play.
Up next, home Liberty League games against Clarkson (Friday) and St. Lawrence (Saturday). Follow them live right here if you can't attend.
