POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – A cold shooting night from the field gave the Skidmore College men's basketball team its first Liberty League loss of the season, as Vassar defeated the Thoroughbreds 67-59 at the Athletics and Fitness Center Tuesday night.
 
Skidmore, the league's lone undefeated team coming into contest, drops to 4-1 in conference play, and 8-3 overall. Vassar improves to 3-9 overall and 2-3 in the league.
 
Edvinas Rupkus led all scorers, tying a season high with 32 points on 11-for-23 shooting from the field. Noah Meren added 10 points. The Thoroughbreds shot a season-low 35 percent from the field and 23.8 percent from beyond the arc.
 
Jesse Browne tallied 17 points to lead Vassar in scoring. Lance Tebay added a 15-point, 10 rebounds double-double.

"We were not good in any aspect of the game tonight," said head coach Joe Burke. "I will take the blame because we were not prepared and we had a lack of energy coming out of the weekend. The season is long and although we have guys banged up you can't make excuses. Good teams find a way and we did not do that tonight. Credit Vassar for taking advantage of the opportunity."
 
After Rupkus scored the game's first five points, Vassar fought to take control, grabbing the early 8-7 lead. A 6-0 run by the Thoroughbreds gave them a 22-19 advantage. Vassar retook the lead a few minutes later, carrying a 29-27 lead into the half.
 
Playing at a slower tempo, Vassar slowly increased its advantage through the second half, eventually taking a 42-36 lead. A pair of Rupkus treys tied the game at 46, with 10:21 to go in regulation. The Brewers took the lead on their next possession, starting a 6-0 run of its own, eventually stretching the lead to as many as nine.
 
Skidmore attempted its final push, with Meren converting on a 3-point play, reducing the deficit to 59-53, at the 2:15 mark. On the other end, Browne scored on a layup to push the lead back to eight, before converting on free throws the rest of the way to secure the win.
 
Skidmore continues its road trip on Friday, heading to RIT for an 8 p.m. contest.