Jan 31, 2014
WATERVILLE, Maine --- In arguably the biggest win in more than 10 years, the Colby College men's basketball team took an 80-75 win over defending national champion and current third-ranked Amherst College in NESCAC play Friday night at Wadsworth Gymnasium.
Colby moves to 10-8 overall and 2-4 in the conference heading into Saturday's 4 p.m. home game with Trinity College. Amherst drops to 16-3 overall, 5-1 in the league, and will play at Bowdoin College on Saturday at 4 p.m.
Amherst had a regular season NESCAC winning streak of 25
straight games snapped, including 31 straight if the league
playoffs are factored. The Lord Jeffs last lost in a league game on
Feb. 12, 2011.
Patrick Stewart had 25 points, including a 5-for-10 effort
from 3-point range, to lead the Mules. Sam Willson came off the
bench and shot 6-for-8 on the way to 14 points and five boards.
Chris Hudnut finished with 13 points, six rebounds, and six
assists. Ryan Jann had 10 points and eight boards, Connor O'Neil
added nine points and five assists, and Luke Westman had seven
points and five assists.
Amherst received 26 points, seven rebounds, and five assists
from Aaron Toomey, the NCAA Division III National Player of the
Year last season. David Kalema added 14 points, while Ben Pollack
had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Connor Green
finished with nine points and seven boards.
Colby had to play a flawless game to win and the Mules were up
to the task. The winners shot 50.8 percent from the field
(30-for-59) and 39 percent (7-for-18) from 3-point range. The Mules
had 23 assists on their 30 made field goals and had just seven
turnovers. Amherst came into the game as the highest scoring team
in the NESCAC at 87.4 points a game.
The Lord Jeffs pulled away at the end of the first half for a
41-34 lead at the break and led by nine points at 56-47 on a basket
by Pollack with 13:56 to play.
The Mules used a 9-0 run, capped by a 3-point shot by Stewart,
to tie the game at 56-56 with 11:21 to go. The game stayed close
and the Lord Jeffs took their last lead at 63-62 on two Toomey free
throws with 5:30 to go.
Hudnut scored inside with 5:11 remaining to put the Mules up
for good at 64-63. The basket started an 11-0 run for the Mules, as
they took a 73-63 lead with 1:17 to play. Willson had four points
during the run, including a baseline slam dunk off a nice pass from
Hudnut with 3:01 left.
Amherst refused to give up and nailed three 3-point shots in
the final 50 seconds. Kalema hit his first 3-point shot with 21
seconds remaining to cut the margin to 78-72, but Ryan Jann hit two
free throws to put the lead back up to eight. Kalema hit again from
3-point range with 13 seconds remaining and Colby missed on two
free throws with 11 seconds to go, but Jann blocked a 3-point
attempt by Toomey with seven seconds left and Colby ran out the
clock.
COLBY 80, AMHERST 75
AMHERST (16-3, 5-1 NESCAC)
Aaron Toomey 8-17 5-5 26; David Kalema 5-11 2-2 14; Ben
Pollack 5-14 3-4 13;
Connor Green 4-13 1-2 9; Tom Killian 3-12 0-0 7; Joseph
Mussachia 3-4 0-0 6;
Connor Gach 0-0 0-0 0; David George 0-1 0-1 0. Totals 28-72
11-14 75.
COLBY (10-8, 2-4 NESCAC)
Patrick Stewart 9-16 2-4 25; Sam Willson 6-8 2-2 14; Chris
Hudnut 6-13 0-2
13; Ryan Jann 3-10 4-8 10; Connor O'Neil 2-5 4-4 9; Luke
Westman 3-4 1-3 7;
Michael Loginoff 1-2 0-0 2; Myles Stephenson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals
30-59 13-23
80.
Amherst....................... 41 34 -
75
Colby......................... 34 46 -
80
3-point goals--Amherst 8-24 (Aaron Toomey 5-11; David Kalema
2-4; Tom
Killian 1-6; Connor Green 0-3), Colby 7-18 (Patrick Stewart
5-10; Connor
O'Neil 1-2; Chris Hudnut 1-2; Ryan Jann 0-3; Sam Willson 0-1).
Fouled
out--Amherst-None, Colby-None. Rebounds--Amherst 47 (Ben
Pollack 12), Colby
37 (Ryan Jann 8). Assists--Amherst 10 (Aaron Toomey 5), Colby
23 (Chris
Hudnut 6). Total fouls--Amherst 15, Colby 12. Technical
fouls--Amherst-None,
Colby-None. A-425