Buzzer-Beater Wins It For Connecticut College Men's Basketball

Connecticut College defeated Colby College with a nearly last-second shot in men's basketball on Friday. Colby didn't leave entirely empty-handed, as the Mules defeated the Camels in the women's competition. The following information was provided by William Tomasian, sports information director at Connecticut College:

Men's Basketball: Conn College 55, Colby 54

Matt Vadas drove to the baseline and hit a 14-foot jump shot with just 1.8 seconds left as the Connecticut College men's basketball team pulled out a 55-54 win over Colby College in New England Small College Athletic Conference play Friday night.

Ben Foreman had connected on a 15-foot jumper for the Mules from the left side of the court with 7.6 seconds remaining. The Camels called timeout and got the ball to Vadas, who was streaking up the middle of the court. He went to the right side, got past a defender, and nailed the baseline jumper. The Mules did not have enough time to get off a good final shot.

Vadas had 15 points and four assists for the Camels (7-15 overall, 1-8 NESCAC). Rob Harrigan added 12 points and Boris Jeremic scored 11 for Conn College, which led 33-21 at halftime.

Foreman had a game-high 23 points, five rebounds, and three assists for the Mules. Connor O'Neil added 12 points and four assists, while Shane Rogers chipped in eight points.

Women's Basketball: Colby 71, Conn College 56

Colby College's Jil Vaughan (Wareham, Mass.) and Rachael Mack (Augusta, Maine) combined for 35 points and 24 rebounds as the Mules took an important 71-56 win over Connecticut College on Friday night in New England Small College Athletic Conference women's basketball action.

Colby (17-5 overall, 6-3 NESCAC), Connecticut College (16-5, 5-4 NESCAC), Bowdoin College, Wesleyan University, and Williams College all entered the night with 5-3 records in the league. Two of the teams are looking for a chance to host a NESCAC quarterfinal game next Saturday. Bowdoin took a victory over Wesleyan on Friday and Williams fell to Amherst, leaving the Mules and Polar Bears at 6-3.

Colby will play host to Wesleyan on Saturday at 3 p.m., while the Camels head to Bowdoin for a 2 p.m. start.

Vaughan had 18 points on 8-for-14 shooting, 15 rebounds, three assists, and three blocked shots. Mack added 17 points on 6-for-12 shooting, had nine rebounds, four assists, and two blocks.

Jacky McLaughlin (Medfield, Mass.) added 13 points, while Aarika Ritchie (Lee, Maine) finished with eight points and six assists for the Mules.

The Mules took a 34-23 lead at halftime and extended the margin to 15 points at 43-28 with 17:34 left in the contest. The Camels, though, refused to fold and used a 22-11 run to cut the margin to 54-50 with 4:52 left. McLaughlin nailed a 3-point shot with 4:26 left to push the lead to seven and the Mules had a 17-6 run to end the game.

The Camels' Tara Gabelman (Irvington, N.Y.) played just 14 minutes because of foul trouble, but still finished with a team-high 14 points and five rebounds.