NEW LONDON — Colby-Sawyer senior Patrick Coffey (Westford, Mass.) was fouled and hit both free throws with four seconds remaining to lift the men’s basketball team to an 81-79 non-conference victory over Thomas College on Tuesday, Jan. 7,
Colby-Sawyer improves to 6-5. The Chargers travel to intrastate rival New England College on Monday, Jan. 13 for a 6 p.m. tip. Thomas falls to 6-6.
Senior Dana Bean (Franklin, N.H.) led the Chargers with 26 points on 12-of-21 shooting and seven rebounds. Coffey finished with 20 points, six rebounds and four assists. Sophomore Terrence Harvey Jr. (Smyrna, Ga.) added 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting.
Thomas was led by senior Zach Mackinnon (Kennebunk, Maine). He poured in 26 points on 7-of-15 shooting. Junior Lovegeurson Fleurine (Fort Pierce, Fla.) posted a double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds. Sophomore Jordan Goodson (Orlando, Fla.) filled the stat sheet with 16 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
Colby-Sawyer held a 41-31 lead after 20 minutes of action with 24 points coming in the paint.
Thomas came out of the break on a 10-4 run to cut into the deficit less than three minutes into the second.
The Terriers finally pulled even at 49-49 with a Justin Butler (Orlando, Fla.) jumper in the paint. The visitors kept the momentum and scored the next two buckets to lead 53-49 with 12:55 left to play.
The teams traded baskets and leads over the next several minutes with neither team having a lead greater than three until a pair of Dana Bean free throws gave Colby-Sawyer a 79-75 advantage with 1:18 showing on the clock.
Thomas then hit four free throws in the next 40 seconds to pull even at 79-79 before Coffey gave the Chargers the two-point lead with four seconds to play. The Terriers were able to get off a desperation three-pointer from 26 feet, but it went wide.
Middlebury, 91-80
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — The Colby-Sawyer men’s basketball team began 2020 with a game at the Hampton Inn/West Springfield Naismith Classic held at the Birthplace of Basketball on the campus of Springfield College. The Chargers fell to No. 4 Middlebury, 91-80.
Middlebury improves to 11-0.
Senior Dana Bean (Franklin) led the Chargers with 13 points and nine rebounds before fouling out. Bean moved into seventh on the made field goals list with 546. First-year Jake Lorman (Rutland, Vt.) added 11 points, five rebounds, five assists and a pair of blocks. Senior Patrick Coffey (Westford, Mass.) also scored 11 points. Sophomore Terrence Harvey Jr. (Smyrna, Ga.) and first-year Zack Caraballo (Salem, N.H.) chipped in 10 points apiece off the bench.
Middlebury’s Jack Farrell led five Panthers in double figures with a game-high 18 points. Matt Folger added 11 points, 10 boards, five steals, and four assists for Middlebury.
After Middlebury netted the first five points of the game, Colby-Sawyer answered with seven-straight to take a two-point edge following a fast-break dunk by Omar Boone at the 17:05 mark. The Panthers would respond with a 12-3 burst to open up a 17-10 lead after Perry DeLorenzo drilled a trifecta.
Middlebury would push its lead to 27-13 on triple by Max Bosco, only to have 12-4 surge by Colby-Sawyer make it a six-point game with 6:15 on the clock. Over the next three-plus minutes, the Panthers went on a 16-6 run, as Farrell made the Panthers’ eighth three-pointer of the frame to boost the lead back to 47-31, but Colby-Sawyer would respond again, pulling within 47-38 heading into the break.
Patrick Coffey got free for a jumper just under three minutes into the second half to make it a 52-45 game in favor of Middlebury, but the Panthers scored eight-straight points, capped off by five-straight points by Griffin Kornaker, which built the lead back to 15 points. The Panthers would lead by as many as 21 points in the frame and went on to secure a 91-80 victory.
The Panthers shot 36-for-78 for the contest and outscored the Chargers in the paint, 44-22.
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