BRISTOL, R.I. – Vassar College finished in third place at the Courtyard by Marriott Tip-Off Tournament with an 81-71 victory over the Roger Williams University Men's Basketball team. Clark University emerged as tournament champions after defeating Mount Ida College 80-69.

In the consolation game, the Hawks grabbed the lead early on and maintained its advantage throughout most of the first half. Holding on to a 34-27 advantage with 4:08 to go in the first period, RWU rolled off nine straight points to take a 14-point lead, its largest of the game. The Hawks would go on to take an 11-point lead into halftime.

In the second half, Vassar came out of the break strong, using a 15-5 run over the opening four minutes to pull within one. The Brewers took its first lead of the game on a three by all-tournament team selection Johnny Mrlik (San Francisco, Calif.)) to go up 57-56 with 11:25 left. RWU's Will Gerencer (Bowdoin, Maine) responded with a layup to regain the lead. The two teams would trade baskets before John Donnelly's layup helped spark a 12-3 run that put Vassar up 75-67 with 4:17 to play. The eight-point deficit would be too much for RWU to overcome, as the team went 2-9 from the field for the remainder of the game.

Mrlik notched a double-double with a game-high 28 points and ten rebounds. Alex Snyder(Rutland, Vt.) also earned a double-double with ten points and 13 rebounds. Erikson Wasyl (Durham, Conn.) finished with 13 points and five boards.

Gerencer led RWU with 19 points to go along with five rebounds. All-Tournament team honoree Ryan Palumbo (Warwick, R.I.) had 13 points and four assists, while Josh Syska (Peabody, Mass.) and Andrew Wasik (Gainesville, Fla.) added 12 and 10 points, respectively.

The championship game began with both teams staying neck-and-neck, as evidenced by seven lead changes and seven ties on the first half alone. It would be Clark, however, that closed out the half on a dominant run that helped give the Cougars control of the game. With the score tied 30-all with two minutes to play in the half, Clark rolled off three straight points to close out the period. All-tournament team member Cam Walker (New Bedford, Mass.) was able to knock down a three at the buzzer to pull the deficit within single digits.

In the second half, Clark held on to its double-digit lead for most of the period. A pair of free throws by Marcus Armstrong (Malden, Mass.) gave Clark its largest lead of the game, a 15-point advantage (57-42) with 14:28 to go. Mount Ida continued to pull itself back into the game, eventually coming within three (63-66) with 5:45 to go. However, seven straight Cougar points brought the lead back to double-digits to erase the momentum. Clark would not let the Mustangs come closer than seven over the rest of the game.

Tournament MVP Andrew Musler (Belmont, Mass.) finished with 24 points and 12 rebonds, while all-tournament team selection Nicholas DaPrato (Marshfield, Mass.) finished with 20 points. Joseph Atkinson (Milford, Mass.) went for eight points, five assists, and four steals.

Walker, who was named to the all-tournament, scored 31 points to finish the weekend with a 36.0 ppg average. Treace Macklin (Brockton, Mass.) added 14 points and six rebounds.

All-Tournament Team

Ryan Palumbo – Roger Williams University

Johnny Mrlik – Vassar College

Cam Walker – Mount Ida College

Nicholas DaPrato – Clark University

Tournament MVP

Andrew Musler – Clark University

Tournament Champions

Clark University