POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – The Union College men's basketball team had its worst shooting game of the season at an inopportune time, shooting 31.4 percent from the field in a 68-61 overtime loss to Vassar College on Friday evening at the Vassar Athletic and Fitness Center.
 
The loss is a damaging one in terms of postseason positioning for Union (17-5, 12-3 Liberty League), as the Garnet Chargers fall into a tie for second place in the conference standings with Vassar (16-6, 12-3 Liberty League) and do not hold the tiebreaker with the Brewers.
 
Junior Matthew Garside scored a team-leading 19 points for Union, followed by 10 points each from senior Christian Dufort, junior Jack Plesser and first-year Cade Furse. Dufort added 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season and Plesser came one carom short of a double-double as well. Junior Tanner Tedesco also chipped in eight points and six assists for the visitors.
 
The Garnet Chargers shot just 21 of 69 from the field on the evening, falling short despite seeing Vassar shoot 29.2 percent (21 of 72) from the field. Union held an 8-3 edge in three-pointers, but the Brewers made 23 shots from the free-throw line compared to just nine for Union.
 
Both teams struggled to find the hoop in a low-scoring opening 20 minutes, as Union took a 26-18 lead into halftime. Union shot 10-of-32 (31.3 percent) from the field, but limited Vassar to just 6-of-36 (16.7 percent) shooting from the field and a 0-for-7 effort from downtown.
 
The teams combined to miss their first 13 shots of the game before Plesser finally opened the scoring with 3:37 gone by in the contest. The Garnet Chargers scored seven of the game's first 10 points and never trailed in the opening half, leading by as many as eight after a Garside three in the last minute provided the final scoring of the frame.
 
Two Plesser free throws to start the second half built up the game's largest advantage at 28-18, but a 14-2 Brewer run followed to give Vassar its first lead of the game at 32-30 with 14:25 on the clock. The home team maintained its slight edge until an 8-0 Union run put the visitors up 45-40 with 3:37 left, thanks to threes from Garside and Furse and a Tedesco pull-up jumper. Union did not trail again in regulation and took a three-point lead inside the final 20 seconds after a Dufort layup, but a Shea Fitzgerald three tied the game with nine ticks left. Union had a good look for the win, but a runner by Tedesco rattled out just before the buzzer and the teams went to overtime.
 
Union went cold to start overtime, missing its first five shots as Vassar scored 10 of the period's first 12 points to create too much of a deficit to overcome. The visitors hit 4-of-5 shots in the final 40 seconds to boost the team's shooting percentage over 30 percent for the game, but it did little to dent the deficit at the final buzzer.
 
The Brewers ended the day with a 60-44 edge on the glass, which resulted in 17 second-chance points and a 34-22 edge in paint scoring. Union also struggled all game long from deep, jacking up 31 three-pointers and only connecting on eight (25.8 percent).
 
Union will look to shake off the loss tomorrow with a 4 p.m. matchup at Bard College.