POUGHKEEPSIE, NY – Junior Kamron Davis (Syracuse, NY/Nottingham) sank both ends of a 1-and-1 with 1:34 to play giving the RIT (12-10, 7-6 Liberty League) men's basketball team a 69-67 lead at Vassar College. That score would hold up as the Tigers downed the Brewers (6-16, 2-11 Liberty League) in a critical Liberty League game Friday evening. With the win, RIT jumps ahead of St. Lawrence for the fourth and final tournament spot in the conference standings.

RIT shot 49.1 percent from the floor on 28-of-57 shooting. The Tigers made 6-of-15 from behind the arc, and went 7-of-12 from the foul line. AJ Horde (Oak Park, MI/University of Detroit Jesuit) was one of four Tigers in double figures with 19 points. Davis finished with 13 points and nine rebounds, while Joe Stortini (Red Hook, NY/Loomis Chaffee) scored 18. JP Reagan (Cortland, NY/Cortland) tallied 11 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had four assists.

Alex Snyder led Vassar with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Tony Caletti added 14 points, while Erikson Wasyl and Jesse Browne each scored nine points for the Brewers who shot 41.3 percent from the floor.

RIT jumped out to a big lead early, 17-7 at the 14:18 mark of the game on a Horde 3-pointer. That capped off a 12-2 run by the Tigers over a 2:36 span. The Tigers extended their lead to 14 points on a Stortini 3-pointer with 12:10 to play in the half as RIT ran off seven straight points.

Vassar would respond, cutting RIT's lead to 38-34 on a Tony Caletti three with 1:42 to play in the first half. The Brewers rattled off eight straight points in the closing moments of the half to cut the Tigers lead. Buckets from Horde and Sheldon Clay (Detroit, MI/University of Detroit Jesuit) late in the half gave the Tigers a 42-36 lead at the break.

RIT was hot from the floor in the first half, shooting 56.3 percent from the field. The Tigers scored 20 of their 42 first-half points in the paint. Stortini led RIT with 13 points, while Horde added 11.

The Tigers continued to lead through the first five minutes of the second half, but Vassar rallied and took its first lead with 15:22 to play on a Snyder layup. After a Davis bucket gave RIT back its lead, Snyder converted a pair of free throws giving the Brewers a 51-49 lead.

With 13:12 to play, Horde stripped Caletti and ran in for the uncontested layup, giving RIT a slim 52-51 lead. It didn't last long as Jonathan Safir drained a three on Vassar's very next possession, giving the Brewers a 54-52 lead.

With time winding down in regulation, Snyder gave Vassar a 67-65 lead on his layup with 4:17 to play. That would prove to be the final bucket of the game for the Brewers as RIT's defense held Vassar without a point the rest of the way. After a Wasyl missed 3-pointer, Horde came down and tied the game at 67-67 on his jumper.

Neither team could buy a bucket down the stretch. But, tied 67-67, Davis was fouled by Snyder with 1:34 to play. Davis drained both ends of a 1-and-1 giving RIT a 69-67 lead. Browne, Wasyl and Snyder all had chances inside the last minute of regulation to score for Vassar, but none could convert including a 3-pointer from Snyder with one second that came off the rim.

RIT held a 37-33 rebounding edge over Vassar. The Tigers tallied 30 points in the paint, and scored 11 points off of seven Vassar turnovers.

The Tigers return to action on Saturday, Feb. 14 when the Tigers face Liberty League foe Bard College at 4 p.m. in Annondale-on-Hudson, N.Y.