Box Score DANBURY, Conn. -- After leading by as many as 17 points in the first half, the Western Connecticut State University men's basketball team had to hold off a second-half comeback by the visitors from Connecticut College to earn an 89-86 non-conference victory over the Camels at Feldman Arena Wednesday night,
Senior Phil Starks (Hartford, Conn.) led all scorers with 28 points, followed by senior Luis Bridtter (Stamford, Conn.) with 22 points. Freshman Jauch Green (Hartford, Conn.) finished with 16 points and junior Tre'Von Perry (Waterbury, Conn.) added 13 points. Bridtter and Perry each pulled down nine rebounds for the Colonials.
For Connecticut College, freshman Tyler Rowe (East Hartford, Conn.) led with 17 points, followed by freshman David Labossiere (Stoneham, Mass.) and sophomore Lee Messier (Narragansett, R.I.) who each scored 12. Junior Daniel Janel (Fresh Meadows, N.Y.) added 11 points for the Camels.
After falling behind 8-4 after two minutes of play, Western scored 16 straight points, including a pair of three-pointers by Starks and six points from Perry.
Connecticut College trimmed the lead to seven points, 24-17, after a jumper by freshman Phil Leotsakos (Arlington, Mass.), but a 10-point run by the Colonials gave Western a 17-point lead, 34-17, with seven minutes left in the half.
An 11-2 run by the Camels over the next two minutes cut the Western lead to 36-28, but at the 2:49 mark the Western lead had grown to 41-28.
Connecticut College outscored Western 8-2 to close out the half, giving the Colonials a 43-36 lead going into the locker room at intermission.
In the second half, Connecticut College cut the Western lead to two points, 49-47, after three minutes of play, but never managed to take the lead.
Western pushed the margin back to double digits after a traditional 3-point play by Bridtter with 7:43 left in the game, but just over two minutes later the Camels had narrowed the gap to four points, 74-70.
A six-point run by Western gave the home team a slight cushion, but the Colonial lead stood at only five points with one minute to play.
With under 10 seconds to play, a three-pointer by Messier cut the Western lead to two points, 86-64, but a pair of Starks free throws moved the margin back to four.
The Camels scored quickly to make the score 88-86, and fouled Green, sending the Western freshman to the free throw line with two seconds remaining. Green hit the second of his two attempts and Connecticut College was unable to get a shot off before the final buzzer, giving Western an 89-86 victory.
For the game, Connecticut College held a 39-37 advantage in rebounds, and also had the edge in assists, 18-17. Western finished shooting 47.1% from the floor and 68.0% from the line, while Connecticut College hit 52.4% and 72.2%, respectively.
With the win, Western improves to 13-7 on the season, while Connecticut College falls to 12-9.
Camel Tracks
Connecticut College junior forward Daniel Janel averaged 17.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in two games this week. Janel shot 64% from the field (16-for-25) and was a perfect 2-for-2 at the charity stripe. Janel is averaging 9.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game for the Camels this season.
Junior co-captain Zuri Pavlin has corralled 687 rebounds in his career. He is tied for second place in the conference with 8.3 boards per game and is scoring 10 points per game.
Sophomore Lee Messier continues to carry the hot hand from behind the arc. Messier has shot 43% from three-point distance this winter, and is scoring 13.6 points a game to lead the Camels on offense while ranking fifth in the conference with 3.1 made triples per contest. Freshman Tyler Rowe is averaging 13.4 points while also ranking sixth in the NESCAC with 3.9 assists per game.
David Labossiere is contributing 11.3 points per game in his rookie season and is shooting 52% from the field to rank 11th in the conference.
The Camels will honor senior guard Bo McKinley Sunday as he plays his final regular season home game in Luce Field House. McKinley is leading the Camels as a captain for the second straight year. He has tallied 631 points, 146 rebounds, 190 assists and 52 steals in his four years in the back-court.
