By Claire Gulbin '22
NEW LONDON, Conn. – Sophomore
Billy Whelan (Hamilton, Mass.) scored a career-high 27 points as the Connecticut College men's basketball team defeated Coast Guard 79-70 in a hard-fought battle on Wednesday evening at Roland Hall.
On the first few possessions of the game, both teams traded buckets back and forth. At 15 minutes, the Bears were able to take their first lead of the game at 11-9, but the Camels answered right away with a deep 3-pointer from
Cam Schainfeld (Newton, Mass.) to regain the lead at 12-11.
The game grew more physical when Coast Guard (1-6) increased its defensive pressure, resulting in several Connecticut College turnovers. The Bears then strung together multiple good offensive possessions, allowing them to claim their biggest lead of the game midway through the first half at 24-19. Despite some sloppy play, the Camels were able to end the half down just two points. Sophomore
Jarron Flynn (Roslindale, Mass.) contributed an impressive 13-point first half performance to keep the game close.
The second half consisted of more of the same with Flynn continuing his strong offensive performance early in the second half with a tough lefty finish through contact to cut the Bears lead to just three. Whelan also added five early points within the first minutes of the half to pace the Camels. Coast Guard was eventually forced to take a timeout to stop momentum after Schainfeld hit a pull up jumper to give Connecticut College a 53-48 edge with just over 12 minutes to play.
Whelan then continued to have the hot hand in the second half after drilling his third three pointer of the half and extending the lead to 11. With under a little under seven minutes to go, Whelan hit another 3-pointer to secure a nine-point lead. In the last few minutes of the game, the Camels were able to knock down some big shots and hold off the Bears' last effort attempts at a comeback.
Whelan led all scorers with 27 points, 20 of them coming in the second half. Schainfeld added 17 points and four assists. Flynn also contributed 17 points in the win.
Connecticut College (2-3) will next host undefeated Clark University at 2 p.m. this Saturday.
