Poughkeepsie, N.Y. -- Adam Dudzinski had 18 points and four steals, and the sixth-seeded St. Lawrence University men's basketball team defeated the third-seeded Vassar College Brewers 58-50 in the first round of the Liberty League Championship on Tuesday night.
With the win, the Saints earn their ticket to the Liberty League semifinals for the third straight season.
"Our defense was very good tonight," said Saints head coach Chris Downs. "Especially from the three-point line. We executed our defensive game plan nearly perfectly. We did give up two late threes with just under a minute from 30 feet away. But other than that, it was very good. We will keep working this week and gear up for a challenge on Friday."
The Brewers started off the game up 12-3, as the Saints managed only one field goal in the first seven minutes. Trailing by almost 10, the Saints picked up the defensive intensity and over the middle part of the half, they outscored the Brewers 16-4, taking a 19-16 lead with six minutes left in the half off on a Dan Anderson three, who scored half the Saints' points during this run.
After the Brewers tied it at 22, the Saints went on a nine-point run, taking as much as a 31-22 lead. St. Lawrence led 31-24 at the break hitting six of its ten tries from three-point land.
The Saints started the second half by scoring the first six points and held Vassar scoreless for the first five minutes. The Saints went ahead by 13 (37-24). During the next 10 minutes of low-scoring basketball, neither team was able to go on an extended run and the Saints kept control of the game.
With just under two minutes left, the Brewers dropped in a layup to cut the St. Lawrence lead down to seven, 51-44. In the next possession, Adam Dudzinski hit a three off of Gavin Macaulay's fifth assist with 1:17 to go to give the Saints a 10-point lead (54-44).
The Brewers failed to score on their next two possessions, and after a handful of free throws, the Saints pulled off the road victory.
Dan Anderson registered double-figures with 11 points while Gavin Macaulay had nine points, five rebounds, and a team high five assists. Troy McPherson came off the bench going 3-for-3 from beyond the arc for nine points. The Saints shot 38 percent overall and 43 percent from the three point line and held the Brewers to 28 percent from the field and 19 percent from three.
The Saints' season lives on with the victory, and they will now head to Ithaca to face the second-seeded Bombers in the Liberty League semifinals. The game will be played on Friday, February 28 with the tipoff time at 7:30 p.m. The two teams split in the regular season with each team getting a win on its home court.