AMHERST, Mass. – Despite holding a lead at the half for the second straight day, the Connecticut College men's basketball team concluded its 2019-20 campaign with a 76-67 loss at Amherst on Saturday afternoon.

The Camels held a 33-30 advantage at the half and remained competitive through the opening minutes of the next stanza, but Amherst scored 15 points midway through the second half to seize control. After freshman Ben McPherron (Weston, Mass.) drained a trifecta to break a 38-all tie with 13:07 on the clock, the Mammoths went on their run which began with Tim McCarthy setting up Michael Schretter for a layup and then dialing up from long distance. Camel junior Jeff Allen (Madison, Conn.) sank the visitors' first shot to close the gap to 10 at 53-43 with 7:55 remaining, but the damage had already been done. Amherst maintained a lead by a comfortable margin and sank free throws in the last minute to come away with the nine-point win.

Amherst, which had a commanding 23-6 advantage in points off turnovers, scored the first five points and shot out to an 8-3 lead in the opening three minutes with Fru Che pacing the offense. The Camels recovered and went ahead by a 14-12 score on an Allen layup with 10:07 on the clock, and the teams stayed within one possession of each other for the remainder of the half. Allen, however, found McPherron for a trey with 13 seconds on the clock, and the visitors took a three-point lead into recess.

Che scored a game-high 24 points and added seven rebounds to lead the way for Amherst (17-7, NESCAC 7-3), which shot 15-of-16 from the stripe. Schretter tallied 10 points and four boards off the bench, and Grant Robinson finished with 11 points. Eric Sellew notched six points and eight assists before fouling out.

Connecticut College (4-20, NESCAC 0-10) was paced by McPherron, who scored 23 points by shooting 8-of-13 from the floor, including 5-of-6 from long range, as well as 2-of-3 from the line. Senior Patrick Lazor (West Hartford, Conn.) contributed 13 points in his final game as a collegian, and Draffan finished with 12 points and seven boards. Junior Jack Zimmerman (Bedford, N.H.) scored six points and registered a game-high four steals.

The Camels graduate three seniors and are slated to return 13 letterwinners, including four starters, next season.