WILLIMANTIC, Conn. –(ECSU) In a game which featured 12 ties and ten lead changes, the Eastern Connecticut State University men's basketball team scored five of its final seven points from the free throw line to post an 84-79 victory over Connecticut College Tuesday night at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium.

Eastern (3-1) scored 13 points on its seven offensive rebounds in the second half to overcome a three-point halftime deficit and defeat Conn College (1-3) for the fourth straight time and seventh time in the last nine contests.

Four Eastern double-digit scorers – led by senior guard Joe Ives' (Avon) career-high 23 – was enough to offset the offensive heroics of Conn junior guard Matt Vadas (Spring Lake Heights, NJ). Vadas poured in 33 points on a selection of short and long-range jumpers. Vadas, who was 11-for-23 from the floor, 4-for-10 from three-point range and 7-for-7 from the line, connected on 20 of his points in the second half. Junior guard Tyrone Turner (New York, NY) came off the bench to toss in 16 for Conn (6-for-8 form the floor) – 12 coming in the second half.

"We battled tonight against an older more experienced team on the road," Connecticut College Head Men's Basketball Coach Tom Satran said.  "I'm proud of our team and am looking forward to watching them continue to improve."

Trailing by two points with just under two minutes left, Eastern responded with nine straight points to pull away. Two offensive rebounds by sophomore guard Brandon Yarborough (Stamford) led to inside buckets in that stretch, and senior forward Chris Robitaille (Canton) and Ives combined for five free throws over the final 34.4 seconds to nail down the win.

Ives was 5-for-9 from the floor (4-for-7 from three-point range) and 9-for-10 from the foul line en route tohis career-high total, while Robitaille had his second straight double-double with 15 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, along witih three blocked shots. Junior guard Brian Salzillo (North Haven) kept Eastern in contention in the first half by converting all three of his three-point field goals and 13 total points over the first 20 minutes. He also had five rebounds and four assists. Garrow finished with 13 points. Five of Yarborough's six rebounds came on the offensive glass and helped the Warriors to a 46-27 overall rebounding advantage.