POUGHKEEPSIE, NY -- The RIT (7-5, 1-2 Liberty League) men's basketball team won a key Liberty League contest Friday, beating Vassar College (4-7, 0-3 Liberty League) 61-44 on the road. It was RIT's first Liberty League win of the season and was a strong bounce back effort after a heartbreaking loss on Tuesday to No. 4 Rochester.

RIT shot 35.0 percent from the floor on 21-of-60 shooting. The Tigers went 6-of-17 from behind the arc, and went 13-of-20 from the foul line. AJ Horde (Oak Park, MI/University of Detroit Jesuit) and Troy Pierre-Louis (Providence, RI/Berkshire School) led the Tigers offensively with 12 points apiece. Robert Aguilera (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas) chipped in eight points and grabbed a career-best 14 rebounds to go along with four blocks. Horde finished with a double-double, grabbing a season-high 10 rebounds, while dishing out five assists. 

Jesse Browne led Vassar with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Mason Dyslin added 10 points for the Brewers who shot just 26.2 percent from the floor, including 2-of-23 from 3-point land.

"It was good to get back on the winning track," said RIT head coach Bob McVean. "Conference games are always a grind, and I thought defensively, tonight was one of our better games."

The Tigers scored the first six points of the game, taking a 6-0 lead on Aguilera's layup at the 15:57 mark. A Wyatt Smith (Rochester, NY/Irondequoit) 3-pointer with 12:28 to play gave RIT a 15-7 lead. Later in the half. Pierre-Louis nailed a 3-pointer from the corner off an assist from Anthony Lewis (Rochester, NY/Churchville-Chili) to give the Tigers a 20-11 lead.

The TIgers took an 11-point lead on a pair of Horde free throws with 2:46 to play before Vassar answered with a 9-2 run to close out the half. Browne's layup with five seconds to play in the half cut the RIT lead to 28-25 at the break.

RIT opened the second half similar to the first, scoring the first five points. A Pierre-Louis 3-pointer early in the half increased the Tigers lead to 33-25.

Vassar kept close to RIT, cutting the lead to 36-33 with 13:05 to play on a layup by Dyslin, while being fouled. He had a chance to cut the lead to two, but missed the ensuing foul shot.

The Tigers would clamp down defensively, holding the Brewers scoreless over a 5:03 period in the second half. Dyslin's bucket would be the last until Browne scored with 9:02 to play.

"I thought we kept our compsure throughout tonight," said McVean. "Our conditioning benefitted us. We kept pushing the ball up the court, and made it tough for them to get back defensively."

RIT gradually pulled away, taking a seven-point lead on a bucket by Jaymee Rosser (Newark, NY/Newark) with 9:43 to play. Horde gave the Tigers their largest lead of the game to that point with his two free throws with 5:16 to play, making it 51-39 RIT. The Tigers would stretch the lead to as much as 18.

RIT held a slight 49-45 rebounding edge, tallying 22 points in the paint, and five second-chance points.

The Tigers return to action on Saturday, Jan. 7 at Bard College at 4 p.m. in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y.