Three players finished with double figures but it wasn’t enough was the New Paltz men’s basketball team fell to Vassar in the opening round of the Hudson Valley Shootout Tuesday evening at Bard College. The Hawks (1-3) will face either Bard or Mount St. Mary on Wednesday night in the consolation game.
Kyle Nelson posted a double-double with a game high 17 points and 14 boards, while handing out four assists. Sophomore Lee Bertram chipped in with a 12 point effort that included eight of 10 from the free throw line. Junior Matt Hauser finished with 10 points.
In a see-saw first half, New Paltz held a slim 29-27 lead with 1:46 to play off a jump shot from sophomore Anthony Bevilacqua. The Brewers scored the next eight points of the half to take a 35-29 halftime lead.
In the second stanza, a jump shot with 13:20 to play put the Brewers ahead 45-38, but New Paltz was able to close the margin to 45-42 with 11:15 to play. Vassar then proceeded to reel off 10 straight points to increase its lead to 55-42 with 7:31 to play.
New Paltz held a slim 35-33 rebounding advantage, but was outshot 36.5% to 45.1%.
