NEW LONDON, Conn. - The Connecticut College men's basketball team picked up a crucial NESCAC win over Amherst, defeating the Mammoths 71-65. The Camels celebrated their two seniors before the regular season finale. 

Fresh off a dominant win over Hamilton, the Camels looked to keep their momentum going against a Mammoths team ahead of them in the conference standings.

With playoff implications once again on the line, the Camels set the tone early. Freshman guard Cam Schainfeld (Newton, Mass.) opened the scoring, cashing in on a Ben Rice (Hanson, Mass.) steal in the opening minutes of play. While neither side managed to separate themselves from the other, the first of Rice's three 3-pointers gave the Camels an early 15-9 lead.

From there on out, much of the first half consisted exchanged stops and scores. However, the Mammoths finally managed to regain the lead when junior forward Beluolisah Oranye hauled in an offensive rebound and dropped in a layup to give his team a 21-20 lead with seven minutes to play in the opening period.

After watching their lead become a narrow deficit, the Camels turned to their bench unit, and sophomore guard Billy Whelan (Hamilton, Mass.) delivered, dropping in a momentum-swinging 3-pointer to reclaim the lead.

The Camels then received scores from three separate players, which when capped off by a pair of free throws from Jarron Flynn (Roslindale, Mass.) gave the Camels a 34-26 lead heading into the intermission.

After ending the first half on a 14-3 run, the Camels looked to hit the ground running when the second half commenced. A Schainfeld free throw was followed by a Flynn layup and the hosts found themselves with their largest lead of the game, 37-26. 

However, determined to keep the game in reach, the Mammoths turned to the senior leadership of Tim McCarthy who delivered back-to-back threes in the heart of the visitors' 18-7 run that eventually evened the game at 44 a piece with just under ten minutes to play.

After the two sides exchanged a series of stops and scores, back-to-back threes from freshman guard CJ Mitchell, gave the Mammoths a 59-56 lead with five minutes remaining.

With their backs against the wall, the Camels turned to the leadership of senior forward Austin Lavitt (Rye Brook, N.Y.). With the shot clock winding down, Lavitt took one hard dribble before stepping back and burying a deep three pointer over the outstretched hands of the Mammoth's defender.

On the ensuing defensive possession, Lavitt rotated from his weak side position to the center of the paint before exploding upwards, meeting Oranye at the rim and forcefully sending his dunk attempt back into play.

With the Luce Field House crowd roaring in appreciation, the Camels managed to spring together a series of stops and scores, which when capped off by a Flynn layup, gave the home team a 65-59 lead with under a minute to play.

The Camels held off a come back attempt from Amherst to win 71-65. The six point win showcased the remarkable depth of the Camels offense as six separate players contributed at least eight points, and four of the six found themselves in double figures.

David Murray (Jackson Heights, N.Y.) led the way with 12 points and a game-high 6 rebounds, Schainfeld followed closely, contributing 11 points to go with his game high of four assists.

Lavitt and fellow senior Ryan Omslaer (Jackson, N.J.) were celebrated in a ceremony prior to the game for their contributions to the program.

The Camels now await the results of tomorrow's NESCAC play which will determine who and when they play in the first round of the conference tournament.