Men's Basketball Turned Away By Connecticut College, 63-57

New London, CT --- Connecticut College freshman Isaiah Robinson (Lynn, MA) netted a team-best 15 points with seven boards to help propel the Camels to a 63-57 victory over Worcester State in non-conference men's basketball action this evening.

Today's contest was the championship game of the two-day Connecticut College/Coast Guard Invitational.

Also pacing the Camels (4-3) was freshman Lee Messier (Narraganset, RI) who registered 13 points while sophomore Zuri Pavlin (New York, NY) had a solid line with 11 points and seven boards.

Pavlin and junior Bo McKinley (Westport, NY) both combined to dish out 10 of their squads 19 helpers.

Senior Charles Gunter (Boston, MA/New Misson) finished with a team-high 11 points, which included a 7-for-7 effort at the free throw line and five boards.

Senior Brendan Rios (Easthampton, MA) and sophomore Austin Keeler (Holyoke, MA) both chipped in with 10 points apiece as sophomore Paul Brooks (Arlington, MA) had eight points and eight caroms.

Junior Manny Cabral (Roslindale, MA) jacked a trio of trifectas for nine points and he handed out four assists while Keeler also doled out five assists for WSU.

For their solid play over the weekend, Gunter (12.5 PPG – 8.0 RPG) and Keeler (8.0 PPG – 5 3PT – 3.0 APG) were named to the All-Tournament Team.

Connecticut College led 13-5 early before the Lancers went on an 11-3 run to knot up the score 16-16 with 9:13 on the clock in the opening period.

After two lead changes and a pair of ties, the hosts soon emerged with the 33-26 advantage on the back of a triple by McKinley as 1:49 read on the scoreboard.

Rios answered with a three-pointer of his own and Gunter netted a pair of freebees to trail by two points with 35 seconds left, but Paulin connected on a jumper on the last possession of the period to put the Camels up 35-31 at the intermission.

To start of the second half, the Lancers whittled away the deficit and equalized the game up at 42-42 with 13:10 remaining.

After one more tie and three more lead changes around the midway point of the stanza, Connecticut College took the 48-47 margin for good on a mid-range jumper by freshman Sean McNally (Hanover, MA).

The Camels then opened up the game with a 6-0 mini run over a 3½ minute span on a lay-up by Pavlin, and consecutive field goals by sophomore Brandon Carson (Glenmoore, PA) for the 54-47 edge with 6:27 left to play.

With Connecticut College leading by six, the Lancers made it a one-possession contest on a jumper at the top of the key by Rios and on a free throw by sophomore Noris Cuevas-Nova (Amherst, MA) to inch closer at 58-55 near the 2:45 mark.

Worcester State played solid defense to preserve the score, but missed three straight baskets in their next offensive possession. Pavlin then sank one of his two tries at the charity stripe to help put the Camels up by four with 1:50 remaining.

On their next offensive series, the Blue and Gold failed to score again on consecutive tries by Gunter which forced the visitors to foul and stop the clock with less than 30 seconds left in regulation.

Connecticut College sealed up the victory with four straight baskets at the free throw line.

It was a gritty effort for both sides as the Camels finished with the 41 percent line from the field (23-for-56) and the hosts canned seven of their 19 tries from beyond the arc (37 percent).

The Lancers had a modest 37 percent clip from the floor (20-for-54) and 40 percent from long range (8-for-20).

WSU finished with slim advantages in rebounding (36-35), offensive boards (10-8), points in the paint (16-12) and baskets off of turnovers (10-8). The game was even in second chance points (8-8) and bench scoring (16-16).

Both squads will play non-conference opponents over the course of the next week. Worcester State hosts Western Connecticut on Thursday at Nichols in a 7 PM affair while Conn College heads to Yonkers for a Wednesday matchup against Sarah Lawrence at 8.