NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Connecticut College men's basketball team fell to Maine-Presque Isle by a 74-60 score at the Charles B. Luce Field House on Saturday afternoon.

Maine-Presque Isle (5-6), which made eight 3-pointers in the first half, used hot shooting from downtown to build up a 30-12 advantage in the opening frame. After the Camels began the contest with a 4-2 lead, Anthony Chacho hit back-to-back trifectas to give the Owls the early momentum. Chacho nailed another shot from beyond the arc to extend the margin to double figures at 23-12 with 8:17 remaining, and the margin grew to as many as 19 on two occasions before Kevin Collins converted a trey in the waning seconds to give the visitors a 40-22 lead at the recess.

Despite falling behind by as many as 21 points, Connecticut College stormed back in the second half and netted 11 unanswered to create a 48-38 score with 12:46 remaining. Freshman Yai Deng (Portland, Maine) converted a 3-pointer and classmate Dan Draffan (Hamden, Conn.) threw down a dunk during the stretch to force the Owls to take a timeout, but the hosts unfortunately could not slice the margin down to single digits. Collins found Maurice Harris for a 3-pointer to push the Owls ahead by a 65-48 margin with 7:37 left, and the Camels were unable to recover and come any closer than 13 points the rest of the way.

"We really struggled to put the ball in the basket for quite a while in the first half and never really recovered from that," said head coach Tom Satran. "Maine-Presque Isle also countered our misses with some great shooting performances, and that was too much for us to overcome."

Deandre Duncombe led five Maine-Presque Isle players in twin figures by scoring a game-high 19 points. Harris registered a double-double by finishing with 15 points and 13 rebounds, while Collins finished with 12 points and four assists.

Junior David Labossiere (Stoneham, Mass.) netted 16 points, grabbed four rebounds, dished out four assists and also contributed two steals for Connecticut College in the losing effort. Classmate Phil Leotsakos (Arlington, Mass.) added 13 points and six boards, and Draffan notched 10 points in a reserve role.

Connecticut College (5-6) continues its six-game homestand when it hosts No. 2 Middlebury in the NESCAC opener for both schools on Friday, Jan. 5 at 7:00 p.m.