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SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Sophomore Mike Concannon poured in a career-high 26 points to lead the fourth-seeded Union College men's basketball team to a 72-62 victory over fifth-seeded Vassar College in the first round of the 2020 Liberty League Tournament on Tuesday night at the Viniar Athletic Center.
 
Concannon had a big game for Union (16-9), hitting 10 of his 16 shots from the field and 5-of-7 from the line. The sophomore also just missed his second career double-double with nine rebounds. Classmate Brian Noone added 14 points and five boards, while senior Kevin Jefferson also reached double figures with 12 points.
 
Junior Jackson Mannix got the scoring started with a three-pointer and it looked like Union might run away with the game from the outset, as the home team built up a 17-4 lead with 11:01 to go in the half following a Concannon layup. However, the Brewers settled down after that, scoring 16 of the next 21 points to get within a bucket. Zach Bromfeld chipped in 10 of his team-high 15 points during the stretch.
 
After trading baskets for the next few minutes, Vassar (11-15) grabbed its first lead of the game following two Bromfeld free throws with 1:11 left, only to have Concannon hit a jumper in the waning seconds to give Union a 31-30 lead headed into halftime.
 
The visitors hung around to begin the second half, but Union used a 10-2 run that was capped by a Concannon three-pointer to finally gain some breathing room at 48-38 with 9:02 remaining. The Brewers stayed with the Dutchmen for the next seven minutes, getting with six points on six separate occasions and making it a four-point game after a Jack Rothenberg three put the score at 64-60 with 2:12 left.
 
However, Jefferson came up with a huge three-pointer on the next possession to immediately increase the lead back to seven, and Concannon followed with a transition bucket to make it a 69-60 game headed into the final minute. Junior Rhona Eseyade then put an exclamation point on the game with back-to-back blocks on Vassar's penultimate possession, helping to secure the win.
 
Union shot 52.0 percent (13 of 25) from the field in the second half and also hit 11-of-13 free throws, as the team managed to score despite shooting just 6-of-20 from beyond the arc. The defense also showed up on Tuesday, limiting Vassar to 21-of-53 (39.6 percent) shooting from the field and converting 13 turnovers into 21 points.
 
With the win, Union advances to the Liberty League Tournament semifinals, where the Dutchmen will take on top-seeded and D3hoops.com No. 24 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The game is set to tip off at 2 p.m. on Saturday.