POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – A huge last-minute rally came up just short for the Union College men's basketball team on Saturday afternoon, as the Garnet Chargers dropped a 76-72 Liberty League contest to Vassar College.
 
The loss was a costly one for Union (11-9, 6-8 Liberty League) in the race for the postseason, as the team dropped into a three-way tie for seventh place in the conference standings with four games to go. Vassar (8-13, 6-8 Liberty League) joins Union and Clarkson University in that three-way tie thanks to their split of the season series.
 
First-year Tanner Tedesco led all players with 19 points and five assists for Union, one of four players in double figures for the visitors. Classmate Jack Plesser added 12 points and both sophomore Christian Dufort and senior Connor Cepiel chipped in 10 points apiece for Union as well.
 
Plesser and Cepiel helped Union stay in the game in the opening half, combining for 18 of the team's 30 points. The Garnet Chargers shot 37.9 percent (11 of 29) in the opening half compared to Vassar's 48.3 percent (14 of 29), but matched the home team from long range and at the charity stripe to stay within range.
 
The game did not start well for the visitors, as Union went over five minutes without a basket and Vassar jumped out to a 7-0 lead. Plesser finally broke the ice for Union 5:48 into the contest and classmate Brendan Reid followed up with a three. Six straight points bumped the Brewer lead back up to eight at 13-5 and the visitors never got closer than three the rest of the frame.
 
Vassar built up its largest lead of the game at 50-38 with 13:39 remaining in the second half, but Union used a 12-3 run to get back within a possession at 53-50 with 9:20 on the clock. A three by Dufort knotted the score at 55 with 7:07 remaining, but Union could never take back the lead and a Vassar 10-2 run soon after gave the home team a 68-59 edge with under three minutes remaining.
 
The Garnet Chargers got hot from long range in the final minutes in an attempt to pull off a comeback, with first-year Matthew Garside sinking a pair from distance and both Tedesco and Dufort adding triples of their own to suddenly make it a one-point game with 10 seconds on the clock. Down by three after a pair of Vassar free throws, the visitors had a chance to pull off the comeback but a three did not go down and Union suffered the heartbreaking defeat.
 
Union finished the afternoon shooting 38.7 percent (24 of 62) from the field, but threw up 34 three-pointers and only made 12 (35.3 percent). Vassar shot 46.2 percent (24 of 52) from the field and also got to the free-throw line 30 times, making 22 (73.3 percent). The Brewers also outscored Union 34-12 in the paint on the day.
 
The Garnet Chargers will look to shake off a tough weekend as they continue the homestretch of the regular season, returning home next weekend for a Friday night matchup against Clarkson University set for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff at Viniar Athletic Center.