Dec 29, 2015
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The Colby College men's basketball seized the opportunity to beat a team in the top 20 with a tough 85-81 victory over 16th-ranked University of Mount Union on Tuesday at the Land of Magic Classic.
The Mules trailed by seven at halftime, but scored 57 points in the second half to earn the victory. Colby moves to 8-1 overall and has won eight straight games heading into Saturday's 2 p.m. home game with University of Maine at Farmington. The Mules have their longest winning streak since the 2009-10 squad won nine in a row. The team record for a winning streak is 22 games set in the 1984-85 season.
Colby's trip to Florida could not have been better. The Mules beat two teams with a combined 14-4 record heading into the tourney and will gain attention nationally after beating a team in the top 20.
The Mules had a 42-32 rebounding advantage, finished with a decisive 28-16 margin in made free throws, and shot 50 percent (25-for-50) from the field while holding Mount Union (8-3) to a 39.7 percent effort.
Sam Willson had a team-high 18 points, a game-high 12 rebounds, and blocked two shots for the Mules. Ryan Jann added 14 points, while Luke Westman and John Gallego both had 12 points. Patrick Stewart added 11 points and dished a game-high four assists, Chris Hudnut finished with eight points and seven rebounds while playing with foul problems, and Pat Dickert scored seven points and pulled down five boards.
Mount Union stayed in the game by committing just six turnovers in the close contest. Jarrett Ruffin had a game-high 26 points and added 11 rebounds, while Jake Jacubec had 17 points and three assists.
After trailing 37-30 at intermission, Colby fought back and tied the game at 48-48 on a 3-point shot by Gallego with 13:20 remaining. Gallego gave the Mules their first lead of the second half at 52-50 on a drive to the basket.
Mount Union used a 9-1 scoring run to take a 72-67 lead with 4:55 to go. The Mules stayed calm and took back the lead on Westman's basket with 2:11 to play for a 75-74 margin. Colby kept scoring and led 80-74 after Hudnut scored inside with 52 seconds to play.
Jacubec helped Mount Union narrow the lead to 81-79 with 37 seconds remaining, but the Mules went 6-for-6 from the foul line the rest of the way.
COLBY 87, MOUNT UNION 81
COLBY (8-1)
Sam Willson 6-11 5-6 18; Ryan Jann 3-6 6-10 14; Luke Westman 2-3 8-8 12;
John Gallego 4-7 2-2 12; Patrick Stewart 3-7 2-2 11; Chris Hudnut 3-8 2-3 8;
Pat Dickert 2-4 3-4 7; Tony Karalekas 1-2 0-0 3; Michael Loginoff 1-1 0-0 2;
Joe Connelly 0-1 0-0 0; Steven Daley 0-0 0-0 0; Myles Stephenson 0-0 0-0 0.
Totals 25-50 28-35 87.
MOUNT UNION (8-3)
Jarrett Ruffin 7-12 10-16 26; Jake Jacubec 7-19 2-2 17; Cody Dillon 5-10 0-0
13; JJ Kukura 3-10 2-2 10; Taylor Moore 3-4 2-2 9; Kyle Scelza 1-5 0-0 3;
Michael Shull 1-6 0-0 3; Miles Griffin 0-1 0-0 0; Andrew Francesconi 0-1 0-2
0; Josh Duerr 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-68 16-24 81.
Colby......................... 30 57 - 87
Mount Union................... 37 44 - 81
3-point goals--Colby 9-24 (Patrick Stewart 3-6; Ryan Jann 2-5; John Gallego
2-4; Tony Karalekas 1-2; Sam Willson 1-4; Joe Connelly 0-1; Pat Dickert
0-2), Mount Union 11-36 (Cody Dillon 3-8; JJ Kukura 2-4; Jarrett Ruffin 2-5;
Jake Jacubec 1-7; Kyle Scelza 1-5; Taylor Moore 1-1; Michael Shull 1-5;
Miles Griffin 0-1). Fouled out--Colby-None, Mount Union-JJ Kukura; Taylor
Moore. Rebounds--Colby 42 (Sam Willson 12), Mount Union 32 (Jarrett Ruffin
11). Assists--Colby 11 (Patrick Stewart 4), Mount Union 12 (Jake Jacubec 3;
JJ Kukura 3). Total fouls--Colby 21, Mount Union 27. Technical
fouls--Colby-None, Mount Union-None.