ROCHESTER, NY -- The No. 3 seed RIT (14-12) men's basketball team defeated sixth-seeded Vassar College (9-17) by a score of 68-63 in the quarterfinals of the 2018 Liberty League Men's Basketball Tournament Tuesday evening at Clark Gym. The Tigers outscored the Brewers 32-23 in the second half to advance to Saturday's semifinals and will take on No. 2 Union College.

"It was a great game to be involved in," said RIT head coach Bob McVean. " Vassar played very well. We hung in there in the second half until we could get some momentum going."

RIT shot 42.1 percent from the floor on 24-of-57 shooting. The Tigers made 7-of-18 from beyond the arc, and made 13-of-19 from the foul line. Troy Pierre-Louis (Providence, RI/Berkshire School) led RIT with 27 points. Robert Aguilera (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas) had a double-double, finishing with 16 points and 10 rebounds. He also added two blocks to give him 82 this season, which is a single-season record at the university. Anthony Lewis (Rochester, NY/Churchville-Chili) tallied nine points, while Will Atkinson (Orchard Park, NY/Canisius) had four assists.

Zach Bromfeld led Vassar with 20 points, while Paul Grinde finished with 11 points and 14 rebounds. Jesse Browne scored 13 points, and BJ White finished with 11 points for the Brewers, who shot 39.7 percent from the floor.

Vassar led 40-36 at halftime, shooting 46.7 percent from the floor. Browne led the Brewers with 13 first-half points. Wyatt Smith (Rochester, NY/Irondequoit) gave RIT a 30-29 lead late in the half. Vassar outscored the Tigers 10-6 over the final 3:46 of the half to lead by four at the break. Aguilera led RIT with 10 points, while Pierre-Louis tallied seven for the Tigers who shot 46.7 percent from the floor.

The Tigers came out strong to start the second half, tying the score at 42-42 on a 3-pointer by Lewis early on. Grinde gave the Brewers a 44-42 lead when he converted an old-fashioned 3-point play at the 15:59 mark of the second half. Pierre-Louis gave the Tigers a 45-44 lead on his 3-pointer with 14:51 to play. He scored 20 of his 27 points in the second half.

An Aguilera free throw with 14 minutes to play extended the RIT lead to 50-45. Vassar came right back, tying the game at 50-50 on a 3-pointer by White with 11:29 to play. The Tigers responded with five straight points, taking a 55-50 lead on a 3-pointer by Pierre-Louis with 9:16 to play.

Pierre-Louis continued his hot hand and extended the Tigers lead to 58-52 with his third 3-pointer of the half with 8:24 to play in regulation. Later in the half, Lance Tebay cut the RIT lead to 64-61 on his jumper with 2:05 remaining. Pierre-Louis would put the game away with four straight free throws inside the last 13 seconds to secure the win.

The Tigers were stingy defensively in the second half, allowing Vassar to shoot just 30.0 percent from the floor. Lewis held Browne scoreless in the second half, while Marcell Davis (Buffalo, NY/St. Joseph's Institute) had six rebounds and played solid defense down low.

"Marcell (Davis) and Anthony (Lewis) were excellent defensively," said McVean. "They helped us get some key stops in the second half."

The Tigers won all three meetings between the two schools this season, all in similar, low-scoring fashion. The Tigers previously beat the Brewers 61-57 at Clark Gym on Jan. 13 and earned a 63-54 win at Vassar on Feb. 9.

RIT will face No. 2 seed Union College on Saturday, Feb. 24 at 4:30 p.m. on the campus of Hobart College. The winner will advance to the title game on Sunday, Feb. 25 at Hobart College. This is the second time the Tigers have qualified for the Liberty League Tournament since joining the league in 2011.

"I am really proud how this group has come together," said McVean. "They dug deep and found a way to get the win and advance."