Adam Dudzinski had 18 points and four steals, and the sixth-seeded St. Lawrence University men's basketball team used a rugged defensive performance to beat the third-seeded Vassar Brewers 58-50 in the Liberty League first round Tuesday night in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. 

With the win, the Saints earn their ticket to the Liberty League semifinal for the third straight season, taking the scenic route to the weekend after a road victory.  

"Our defense was very good tonight," said Saints head coach Chris Downs. "Especially from the three-point line. We executed our defensive game plan nearly perfectly. We did give up two late threes with just under a minute from 30 feet away. But other than that, it was very good. We will keep working this week and gear up for a challenge on Friday."

The Brewers started off the game up 12-3, as the Saints managed only one field goal in the first seven minutes. Trailing by almost 10, the Saints picked up the defensive intensity and over the middle part of the half, the Scarlet and Brown outscored the Brewers 16-4, taking a 19-16 lead with six minutes left in the half off on a Dan Anderson three, who scored half the Saints' points during this run.

After the Brewers tied it at 22, the Saints scored nine straight, taking as much as a 31-22 lead. St. Lawrence led 31-24 at the break hitting six of their ten tries from three-point land. 

The Saints started the second half by scoring the first six points, holding Vassar scoreless for the first five minutes and taking a 37-24 lead. During the next 10 minutes of low-scoring basketball, neither team was able to go on an extended run and the Saints controlled between an eight and a 12-point lead.

With just under two minutes left, the Brewers dropped in a layup to get the St. Lawrence lead down to 51-44, the closest it had been since the beginning of the second half. In the next possession though, Adam Dudzinski hit a dagger three off of Gavin Macaulay's fifth assist with 1:17 to go to give the Scarlet and Brown a 54-44 lead.

The Brewers failed to score on their next two possessions, and after a handful of free throws, the Saints pulled off the win on the road.
 
Dan Anderson was also in double-figures with 11 points while Gavin Macaulay had nine points, five rebounds, and a team high five assists. Troy McPherson came off the bench going 3-for-3 from beyond the arc to reach nine points. The Saints shot 38 per cent overall and 43 per cent from the three point line and held the Brewers to 28 per cent from the field and 19 per cent from three.
 
The Saints season lives on with the victory, and they will now head to Ithaca to face the second-seeded Bombers in the Liberty League semifinal. The game will be played on Friday, February 28 with the tipoff time at 7:30 p.m. The two teams split in the regular season with each team getting a win on its home court.