POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (February 5, 2016) — The Vassar College men's basketball team defeated Hobart College, 75-66, behind Jesse Browne's career-best 31 points on Friday.

With the Brewers' third win in four games, they improve to 10-10 overall and 6-5 in conference play, while the Statesmen fall to 9-11 and 5-6 in the Liberty League.

Browne (Barrington, RI/Deerfield Academy) surpassed his previous career-high of 28 points by shooting 63 percent from the floor with six triples. The sophomore also pulled down nine rebounds.

Another Brewer to nearly record a double-double was Alex Seff (Arlington, VA/Washington-Lee), who scored 10 points and nine rebounds.

The Brewers crushed the Statesmen on the glass, 40-27, which Browne said was the key to the contest. 

"Just playing really good defense (helped us)," Browne said. "We had a couple minor mishaps, but we held them to (36) percent from the floor and (21) percent from three, which is great, especially for a team that shoots as well as Hobart does."

Vassar shot 47 percent from the floor, and outshot Hobart, 23-18, from the free-throw line.

The Brewers got off to a great start, using an 8-0 surge to get ahead seven, 12-5. Browne highlighted the run with a jumper and a three from the corner.

The Statesmen would take a one-point lead with an 11-3 run, but the Brewers quickly answered with seven straight points.

Browne drained back-to-back triples to put the Brewers ahead, 29-22, with 5:16 left in the first half. The teams would exchange buckets, as Vassar took a 35-29 edge into intermission.

"I thought we played with pretty good energy," Browne said. "We knew we just needed to come out with good speed. We kept the ball moving."

The Statesmen came out of the break firing from deep, draining three of their first four buckets from beyond the arc.

Vassar led up until Hobart knot the game at 53 with a 9-3 run. The game would tie three times more before Browne drained a deep three from the wing to put the Brewers ahead for good.

The Statesmen stayed within two possessions up until Chris Gallivan  (East Walpole, MA/Walpole) put the Brewers ahead seven, 71-64, with 16 seconds remaining.

"I think when Chris Gallivan secured a board on the defensive end and then hit two big free throws to put us up five or six, that was really big," Browne said of the freshman. "That was the dagger in the game. "

Hobart would get within five before Vassar scored the final four points from the foul line.

Jamal Lucas led the Statesmen with 21 points, adding four rebounds, three blocks and two steals.

The Vassar men's basketball team looks to continue its success on Senior Day when it takes on the Rochester Institute of Technology on Saturday at 4 p.m. in the Athletics and Fitness Center.