Amherst Holds Off Vassar for 79-68 Victory

Daoust '01, Collins '00 Lead Way to Foul-Plagued Fifth Win For Jeffs

AMHERST, Mass. - In a Division III non-conference tilt that saw host Amherst and visiting Vassar College combine for 73 foul shots, the Lord Jeffs held off a late Brewer charge to capture their fifth victory of the year, a 79-68 final in Amherst on Saturday.
Behind solid shooting from junior guard Brian Daoust (Dover, MA), the Jeffs opened up an early 25-11 lead over visiting Vassar, before Brewer guard Brian Snodgrass (Holmdel, NJ) rattled off three consecutive three-pointers to spark Vassar's comeback, cutting the Amherst lead to five by halftime.
Stingy Amherst defense held Vassar junior Tirek Gayle (Queens, NY), the Brewers' leading scorer, to only one first-half field goal, and Gayle finished three for 15 from the field before fouling out late in the second half. Fouls became the story of the second half as neither team could build momentum with the almost constant stoppages of play. But the Jeffs held a decisive 47-33 advantage on the boards for the game, including a career-high 15 rebounds from freshman Steve Zieja (Hadley, MA) and 12 boards from senior Co-captain Chris Smith (Swartmore, PA). Amherst senior Jackson Collins (Brooklyn, NY) pulled down six of his eight rebounds in the second half en route to a career-high 18 points, and the Jeffs answered the Brewers' two late runs, including two more three-pointers from Snodgrass, holding on for the 11-point victory behind solid free-throw shooting down the stretch.
The Jeffs finished 30 for 41 from the foul line for the day, including 21 of 29 in the second half, while Vassar finished 24 for 32 in a game which saw 48 fouls whistled on the two teams.
For Vassar, Snodgrass finished with 20 points, while sophomore Brett Lampiasi (W. Hatfield, MA) finished with 18, including a 7-7 performance from the foul line. Gayle, who finished 10 for 11 from the foul line, pulled down 13 rebounds to go along with his 16 points.
The Jeffs are next in action tomorrow afternoon at home against Washington College of Maryland, while the Brewers are next in action at home on Tuesday night against New York University.

Vassar (68) Snodgrass 6-11 3-4 20, Lampiasi 5-13 7-7 18, Gayle 3-15 10-11 16, Materasso 5-10 3-6 13, Nazzaro 0-2 1-2 1, Beauregard 0-1 0-0 0, Chittim 0-0 0-0 0, Martin 0-1 0-0 0, Norkun 0-1 0-2 0, Jackett 0-0 0-0 0, Callery 0-0 0-0 0

Amherst (79) Daoust 5-12 9-10 20, Collins 6-11 6-10 18, Quattlebaum 4-6 4-6 12, Smith 2-7 3-4 7, Fitzsimons 3-5 0-0 6, Kelly 1-8 4-4 6, Zieja 1-6 3-6 5, Faulkner 1-1 1-1 3, Taverna 1-1 0-0 2, Jenkins 0-1 0-0 0, Sexson 0-1 0-0 0

3-point goals - Vassar 6-16 (Snodgrass 5-9, Lampiasi 1-4, Gayle 0-1, Nazarro 0-1, Materasso 0-1), Amherst 1-11 (Daoust 1-5, Kelly 0-5, Smith 0-1). Fouled out - Vassar 2 (Beauregard, Gayle). Rebounds - Vassar 33 (Gayle 13), Amherst 47 (Zieja 15). Assists - Vassar 13 (Lampiasi 4), Amherst 16 (Quattlebaum 4). Total fouls - Vassar 26, Amherst 22. Technicals - None. Attendance - 417.