NEW LONDON, Conn. – Connecticut College opened the 2023-24 men's basketball season with a 74-65 victory over crosstown rival Mitchell College on Saturday afternoon at the Yarnall Athletic Center.
Elias Espinosa (Leonia, N.J.) netted 14 of his game-high 19 points in the first half to lead the Camels, who shot 41 percent from the field and went 20-for-27 from the free throw line.
Ben Rice (Hanson, Mass.) added a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds, and
Cam Schainfeld (Newton, Mass.) finished with 11 points and five assists in his return to the floor.
Jarron Flynn (Roslindale, Mass.) rounded out Conn's double-digit scorers with 10 points and tacked on five rebounds.
Conn never trailed after starting the game with an 8-0 run, sparked by four early points from
RJ Casey (Brentwood, Tenn.). Espinosa then provided back-to-back threes to expand the margin to 14-2 less than five minutes into the contest. The Camels didn't allow a field goal and forced six turnovers in the early going to help build the lead.
Conn played with a comfortable lead for the rest of the half. A three-point by
Billy Whelan (Hamilton, Mass.) gave the visitors their biggest lead of the day at 40-20 with 4:16 left in the half, and the Camels coasted to a 43-26 lead at the break. Espinosa led the barrage with a 4-for-8 effort from three-point range.
In the second half, the Mariners trailed by double digits until an 11-2 run left them down by six with 5:25 to go. However, the Camels got buckets from Flynn and Rice to bump the lead back to 10, and Mitchell was forced to start fouling with 2:49 left in the contest. Conn went 8-for-10 from the line down the stretch to secure the victory.
Brandon Lee finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds to pace Mitchell (0-1 overall).
Conn will next play at Purchase College on Tuesday, November 14 at 7:00 p.m.
