NEW LONDON, Conn.—Junior center Chris Hudnut (Chevy Chase, Md.) poured in a game-high 24 points to lead the Colby College men's basketball team to a 79-70 victory at Connecticut College Saturday.

Hudnut was 6-for-8 from the field and a perfect 12-for-12 from the charity stripe. He had seven rebounds and two steals in the win.

The Mules improved their record to 9-5 and are a perfect 2-0 in NESCAC play. The Camels are 7-6 (0-2 NESCAC).

Junior guard Luke Westman (Newton, Mass.) chipped in with 21 points, five boards and four helpers, connecting on 5-of-6 shots from the field and 11-of-12 shots at the foul line. Ryan Jann (Westford, Mass.) finished with 14 points while junior Sam Willson (Watertown, Conn.) reached double digits with 10 points and nine rebounds.

Connecticut College freshman Lee Messier (Narragansett, R.I.) finished with a team-best 19 points and had six rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals.  Messier netted 17 of his 19 points in the second stanza. Isaiah Robinson (Lynn, Mass.) finished with 13 points and three assists and was 3-for-6 from the field and 7-for-8 at the charity stripe.

Bo McKinley (Westport, N.Y.) finished with 10 points and three assists.  Zuri Pavlin (New York, N.Y.) added nine points and seven rebounds.

"We are of course disappointed in the outcome because we had our chances," Connecticut College Head Men's Basketball Coach Tom Satran said. Hopefully we can learn a thing or two from the weekend. We will get back at it in practice right away."

Colby built a 32-27 lead after Westman converted a pair of free throws with 5:12 remaining. But the Camels ended the half with an 8-to-1 run. Austin Brown (Katonah, N.Y.) capped the rally when he canned a 16-footer with 1:06 remaining and the Camels carried a 35-33 lead into the break.

Brown continued to spark the Camels in the second half as the hosts opened the stanza with a 10-to-4 run. Messier buried a three ball during the scoring surge before Brown capped the rally with a free throw to make it a 45-37 game with 17:23 remaining.

Colby responded though and the visitors scored the next seven points to pull within one and regained a 51-48 lead when Jann dialed up a three-ball with 13:02 remaining.

Later on in the half with 7:00 remaining, Hudnut collected a steal and went in for a jam on a fast break to push the Mules lead to 63-56.

But the Camels would not go away and after Brown knocked down another jumper to trim the deficit to five, Colin Pascoe (Somers, Conn.) corralled an offensive board and assisted Messier for a trey from the middle of the arch that pulled the Camels to within 63-61 with 4:33 remaining.

Hudnut scored the next four points to push the lead back to 67-61. But McKinley answered for the Camels with a three from the right side with `1:47 to play that made it a one possession game in a 67-64 contest.

But Colby converted its next four free throws and the Camels could not get any closer. The visitors were able to hang on for the 79-70 victory.