POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – The Union College men's basketball team attempted a huge late-game rally, but the Dutchmen dug themselves too big of a hole as the visitors came up short to Vassar College by a 70-57 score in a Liberty League contest at AFC Gymnasium on Tuesday night.
 
Senior Temi George was the leading scorer for Union (4-3, 2-1 Liberty League) on the night, hitting 5-of-10 shots from the field and 7-of-8 from the line to finish with 17 points. Classmate Mike Manley added 12 points and junior Mike Caporale hauled in 10 rebounds as well for the Dutchmen, while Zach Johnson led all players with 19 points and 20 rebounds for Vassar (6-2, 3-0 Liberty League).
 
The Dutchmen struggled to get going on Tuesday night, missing 12 of their first 14 shots as Vassar jumped out to a 16-6 lead at the midway point of the first half. The Brewer lead grew to as many as 17 before layups from George and Manley lowered the deficit to 13 (31-18) at the half. The visitors shot 23.3 percent (7 of 30) over the first 20 minutes.
 
A 7-2 run in the first three minutes of the second half gave the Dutchmen some life and brought the visitors back within single digits at 33-25, but that momentum was quickly quashed thanks to a 22-5 Vassar run that gave the home team its largest lead of the night (55-30) with 10:17 remaining. Union did not quit, however, holding Vassar to just one field goal over the next 6:28 and hitting 10-of-12 free throws as part of a 20-3 run that got the visitors to within eight (58-50) with 3:07 on the clock on a three-point play by sophomore Edward Baptiste.
 
Despite the comeback effort, some missed opportunities on the Union offensive end and some key offensive rebounds by Vassar kept the Dutchmen from getting any closer than seven the rest of the way. While the Brewers did not hit a field goal over the final 8:27, Avni Mustafaj hit all eight free throws attempts as Vassar went 12-of-17 from the line down the stretch to seal the win.
 
Union finished the game shooting 19-of-63 (30.2 percent) from the field, including a 4-of-21 effort (19.0 percent) from beyond the arc. Vassar shot better from beyond the arc (9 of 19) than inside it (15 of 33) on the night and also held a commanding 51-32 edge in rebounding that helped to counteract 23 turnovers that Union converted into 29 points.

Union will finish its busy final week before the holiday break on Thursday night at #20 Williams College.