NEWBURGH, NY – Even without a single lead change for the entire game, the result of Thursday night's Hudson Valley showdown between Mount Saint Mary College and Vassar College still came down to a last second shot. Mount Saint Mary senior Alex Kuchar (Rutherford, N.J.) missed what would have been a game-tying three-pointer with one second remaining on the clock, allowing Vassar to escape the Kaplan Center with a 62-59 victory. The Brewers improved to 4-3 with the victory while the Blue Knights dropped to 1-4.

Leading by eight at the half, Vassar pushed their advantage to twelve in the opening minutes of the second half as senior Matt Nunn (Lower Gwynedd, Pa.) scored the opening two buckets of the half. Back-to-back three pointers from the Mount cut their deficit to six, keeping them in the game. After trading points for the next five minutes, Vassar senior Lenny Holt (Watertown, Mass.) converted a three-point play to give the Brewers a 47-37 lead with under twelve minutes to play.

The Mount was quick to answer once again, getting back-to-back three pointers from freshman Will Hennep (Wheatley Heights, N.Y.) and Kuchar. Then, after a scoreless drought of nearly four minutes, Hennep hit a jumper from the elbow to cut the Vassar advantage to two (49-47).

Leading 57-55 with just under three minutes to play, Holt made a nice move to the hoop where he was fouled. He converted a pair of free throws to make the lead four. After a miss at the other end, Holt went to the hole again and extended the lead to six with a lay-up. A Mount turnover allowed the Brewers to run the clock down to under a minute to play, still leading by six.

Hennep managed to set up the last-second attempt for the Mount, converting a nice three-point play with forty-two seconds remaining. After Holt turned it over for the Brewers, sophomore Tim Morris (Greenwich, N.Y.) launched a three-pointer from the corner that would have tied the game, but it went off the rim. Senior Chris Harrison (Baldwin, N.Y.) gave an incredible diving effort to get the ball back for the Mount, setting up Kuchar's three-pointer with just one second remaining.

Nunn finished with a game-high 26 points for Vassar, shooting 11-of-16 from the field. Holt had13 points and 8 rebounds and was key for the Brewers down the stretch. Freshman Caleb McGraw (Sitka, Alaska) chipped in 11.

Harrison led the way for the Blue Knights, pouring in 21 points while collecting 16 rebounds. Hennep was the only other player in double figures, totaling 10 points.

Vassar shot 46.2-percent from the floor as compared to just a 33.3-percent clip for Mount Saint Mary. The Blue Knights dominated the glass in the second half, out-rebounding the Brewers 25-11.

Up next for the Mount is a home date with the College of Mount Saint Vincent. The Skyline Conference game is scheduled for Saturday, December 6 at 3:30 p.m. Vassar hosts Neumann College on Saturday at 4:00 p.m.