Jan 16, 2015
WATERVILLE, Maine --- Chris Hudnut was at his dominating best with 26 points and went over 1,000 career points to help the Colby College men's basketball team to a 75-70 win over Hamilton College in NESCAC play Friday night.
Colby moved to 10-5 overall and remains in first place in the league with a 3-0 record. Hamilton dropped to 10-5 overall and 0-3 in the conference.
Hudnut became the 36th player in the illustrious history of Colby men's basketball to reach 1,000 career points. He moved into 34th all-time with 1,006 points. Hudnut was 9-for-16 from the field, 8-for-9 from the foul line, pulled down a game-high 16 rebounds, and dished four assists. He is averaging 20.3 points and 10.2 rebounds.
Ryan Jann and Luke Westman each had 12 points for the Mules. Jann also had eight rebounds, while Westman was 4-for-4 from the field, added four assists, and three blocked shots. Westman ranks second in the country in field goal percentage.
Sam Willson hit some key free throws in the closing minutes and had nine points and teammate Connor O'Neil added eight for Colby.
Colby was 19-for-27 from the foul line and had a huge advantage over Hamilton (4-for-6). The Continentals stayed in the game by forcing 18 Colby turnovers and committed just 10 of their own.
Joseph Lin had 13 points and nine assists in the first half and finished with a team-high 23 points and 10 assists for Hamilton. Ajani Santos and Joe Pucci each had 10 points, while Jack Donnelly finished with nine.
The Mules led 60-49 with 8:13 left in the game, but Hamilton was pesky and stayed in the game. Donnelly nailed a 3-point shot with 3:35 to play to cut the margin to 62-59.
Hudnut scored five straight points to push the margin to 67-59 with 2:15 to go, but the Continentals refused to give up. Hamilton scored seven straight points - the last two on a layup by Lin with 1:12 to go - to make it 67-66.
Hamilton hurts its own cause by committing a foul and then getting a technical foul with 41 seconds to play. Hudnut nailed both free throws on the technical and Westman hit 1-for-2 to make it 70-66.
Lin quickly scored with 33 seconds left for a 70-68 Colby lead. Willson went 1-for-2 from the foul line with 27 seconds left for a 71-68 margin. Lin again scored with just 17.2 seconds to play for a 71-70 Mule lead. The Mules turned the ball over immediately and had a foul, but Hamilton missed on a 1-and-1.
Jann was fouled on the rebound and nailed two free throws with 10 seconds left for a 73-70 lead. The Continentals missed on a 3-point shot and Willson closed out the scoring with two free throws with 1.4 to play.
COLBY 75, HAMILTON 70
HAMILTON (10-5, 0-3 NESCAC)
Joseph Lin 10-18 0-1 23; Ajani Santos 5-14 0-0 10; Joe Pucci 4-8 2-2 10;
Jack Donnelly 3-5 0-0 9; Peter Kazickas 3-8 0-0 7; Wes Wilbur 2-3 2-2 6;
Kyle Pitman 2-4 0-1 5; Zander Wear 0-1 0-0 0; Jack Dwyer 0-1 0-0 0. Totals
29-62 4-6 70.
COLBY (10-5, 3-0 NESCAC)
Chris Hudnut 9-16 8-9 26; Ryan Jann 3-5 4-4 12; Luke Westman 4-4 4-10 12;
Sam Willson 3-6 3-4 9; Connor O'Neil 3-6 0-0 8; Shane Rogers 2-5 0-0 5; John
Gallego 1-3 0-0 3; Joseph Connelly 0-0 0-0 0; Matt Mignon 0-0 0-0 0; Michael
Loginoff 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-45 19-27 75.
Hamilton...................... 40 30 - 70
Colby......................... 46 29 - 75
3-point goals--Hamilton 8-15 (Jack Donnelly 3-5; Joseph Lin 3-4; Kyle Pitman
1-3; Peter Kazickas 1-2; Wes Wilbur 0-1), Colby 6-15 (Connor O'Neil 2-4;
Ryan Jann 2-4; John Gallego 1-1; Shane Rogers 1-3; Sam Willson 0-3). Fouled
out--Hamilton-Ajani Santos, Colby-None. Rebounds--Hamilton 27 (Peter
Kazickas 6), Colby 33 (Chris Hudnut 16). Assists--Hamilton 17 (Joseph Lin
10), Colby 19 (Luke Westman 4; Chris Hudnut 4). Total fouls--Hamilton 19,
Colby 12. Technical fouls--Hamilton-Wes Wilbur, Colby-None. A-530