Nov 13, 2015
BIDDEFORD, Maine -- Wol Majong and Peter Donato combined for 46 points to lead the Colby-Sawyer College men's basketball team to an 81-72 win over host University of New England in opening-day play at the Ramada Roundball Invitational Friday evening (Nov. 13) at the Harold Alfond Forum.
The Chargers (1-0) used runs of 8-0 and 10-0 during the closing period to erase a nine-point halftime deficit. Majong and Donato powered the surge with a total of 30 points in the frame on 11-of-18 shooting from the floor.
CSC scored the 10 unanswered to go up 70-62 with 6:20 left. The Nor'easters (0-1) got right back within two (70-68), but lost steam down the stretch.
Cam Meservey added 11 points for the winners -- all in the 1st half. Milani Hicks ended with nine points and nine rebounds, while Taylor Grande finished with eight points to go with a game-high 12 boards. On top of his 22 points, Donato pulled in 11 rebounds for Colby-Sawyer, which posted a 52-26 advantage on the glass.
UNE received a team-best 22 points out of Devin Thompson, and 17 more from Jean-Luc Parker. Gavin Dibble added 10 1st-half points off the bench. Drew Coveney tallied seven points, five rebounds, five assists, and five steals.
No lead in the game reached double digits. Back-to-back treys by Meservey put the visitor up 9-2 in the early-going, before a 14-0 run by the Nor'easters turned things around. After seeing the lead trimmed to one (18-17), Big Blue responded with eight straight to assume a nine-point cushion.
UNE gave some back but went into the break with a 43-34 edge. Thompson and Parker had 13 points apiece in the stanza, each knocking down three trifectas. The hosts also capitalized on 13 CSC turnovers in the half, converting them into 14 points.
The Nor'easters maintained a lead of seven (53-46) coming out of intermission, until a quick eight by the Chargers ended a 20-minute span with their opponent in front.
Seconds following a dunk by Donato that shifted Colby-Sawyer up, 60-59, Thompson buried a corner three-pointer for UNE. However, Majong rattled-in a triple of his own on the ensuing possession and CSC (63-62) never trailed again.
The Chargers will meet Saint Joseph's College of Maine in Saturday's event final at 3 p.m., while the Nor'easters are slated to face Hunter College in the 1 p.m. match. Later in the evening, the Monks canned 11-of-17 from long distance in the initial period on the way to an 88-81 victory over the Hawks.