POUGHKEEPSIE, NY – Union College, second in the Liberty League standings, needed the full 40 minutes and a 59 percent shooting performance from the field to fend off a determined Vassar College team and pull away for an 85-74 victory on Saturday afternoon at the Athletics & Fitness Center.

The Dutchmen, which once held a 31-17 first half lead, saw the Brewers roar back into contention to trail 63-62 with 7:55 to play after Brewer junior forward John Donnelly converted on a fast break layup. Union answered with an 11-3 run, highlighted by a pair of 3-pointers by freshman forward Ethan Lubowitz to secure the necessary breathing room to hold off the Brewers.

Union improves to 14-2 overall and 6-1 in Liberty League play, while Vassar drops to 5-10 overall and 1-5 in conference action. Vassar will next travel Rochester Institute of Technology on January 25 for an 8:00 p.m. game. Union is back in action on Tuesday, January 22 hosting Hobart at 8:00 p.m.

With their own torrid shooting and a 9 of 18 performance from 3-point distance, Vassar stormed back from both a 10-point halftime (44-34) and second half deficit (55-45 with 14:56 remaining) to make the game tightly contested. Junior forward Evan Carberry, freshman forward Nick Johnson, sophomore forward Alex Snyder, freshman guard Erikson Wasyl and Donnelly all helped lead the charge back to within 63-62 with just eight minutes to play.

Union's 11-3 run over the next four minutes was kick started by a layup from sophomore Terell Winney and the backbreaking 3-pointers from Lubowitz, who scored 14 points on a perfect night of shooting. That scoring came at an inopportune time for the Brewers who managed only two field goal attempts and had two turnovers during Union's game-changing run.

Another Lubowitz 3-pointers with 1:06 to play extended Union's lead to 81-71.

Both teams started with an offensive flurry, Union shooting 68 percent in the first half (17 of 25) and Vassar 52 percent (14 of 27). After Vassar's Donnelly scored the game's first points, Union earned a double-figures lead throughout the first half, relying on the hand of senior forward Kevin Donohue who tallied 13 points on a perfect 4 of 4 from the field and 1 of 1 from long range.

Donnelly had 15 points for Vassar and the rapidly improving Wasyl added 14. Carberry and Snyder had 12 and 11 points respectively.

Donohue finished with 17 points and a game-high seven rebounds. Winney had 15. Senior guard Joe Mason had a strong 14-point outing and helped anchor Union's 42 points scored inside the paint.