Vassar College's Luka Ladan '15 scored eight of his game-high 27 points in overtime and the Brewers edged the Hamilton College Continentals 79-74 in a non-conference game at Hamilton's Margaret Bundy Scott Field House on Dec. 6.
Box Score
Vassar (3-4 overall) handed the Continentals their first loss this season. Hamilton had won its last 10 games against the Brewers and leads the all-time series, 24-3. Vassar's last win in the series -- back in January 2008 -- also ended in overtime.
Ladan made 9 of 12 shots from the floor and went 9-for-12 at the free-throw line. Tony Caletti '18 drained six 3-pointers and finished with 18 points. Alex Snyder '15 chipped in 16 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots. Erikson Wasyl '16 canned four shots from beyond the arc and ended up with 12 points. Curtis Smith '15 handed out six assists.
The Brewers shot 51 percent from the field, including 11 of 25 from 3-point range. It's just the second time in eight games that the Continentals allowed an opponent to shoot better than 35 percent.
Joseph Lin '15 paced Hamilton (7-1) with 19 points and a career-high nine assists off the bench. Lin scored all his points after halftime. Peter Kazickas '15 added 15 points in a reserve role as the Continentals' bench outscored Vassar's, 41-2.
Ajani Santos '16 posted his first double-double at Hamilton with 12 points and a career-best 10 rebounds. The Continentals enjoyed a 39-28 advantage on the glass. Kyle Pitman '17 dropped in 11 points. Pitman had three of Hamilton's four 3-pointers.
The Brewers led 32-27 at halftime and extended their advantage to 17 points at 58-41 with 8:41 left. Not long after that, the Continentals switched their defense from a 2-3 zone to a full-court press, and the adjustment bothered Vassar.
Hamilton still trailed by double digits at 63-52 after a layup by Snyder with 4:40 remaining. That was the last basket for the Brewers until the final seconds. The Continentals went on a 16-2 run that gave them a three-point lead late. Lin started the spurt with seven straight points and fed Kazickas for a layup that made it 63-61 with 2:19 to go.
After a free throw by Ladan, Santos cut Hamilton's deficit to 64-63 with two free throws with 1:13 left. Smith went 1-for-2 at the line with 29 seconds remaining and put Vassar back up by two. Pitman drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 20 sec0nds left that put the Continentals in front 66-65 for the first time since midway through the first half.
The Brewers turned it over on their next possession and Lin drove in for a layup and a three-point lead with 13 seconds remaining. Vassar had one more chance as Smith missed a shot from long range but Ladan grabbed the offensive rebound, dribbled out towards the 3-point line and found Caletti open on the left wing. Caletti's shot bounced on the rim and looked like it was going to roll off but a Hamilton player touched it in the cylinder as the buzzer sounded. The officials awarded the Brewers the three points due to goaltending and the teams went to overtime.
In overtime, the Continentals took their final lead at 74-72 on a basket by Lin with 56 seconds to go. Vassar ended the game on a 7-0 run. Ladan made a layup and added two free throws on the next possession that put the Brewers up for good with 42 seconds left. Hamilton missed three shots and Vassar went 3-for-6 at the line in the final 20 seconds to clinch the victory.
The Continentals travel to Union College for another non-conference game on Tuesday, Dec. 9. The Brewers are at Southern Vermont College on Wednesday, Dec. 10.
