NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Connecticut College men's basketball team dropped a 71-68 final in overtime to Albertus Magnus College on Thursday night in non-conference action at The Nest.
David Murray (Jackson Heights, N.Y.) paced the Camels with a game-high 21 points and added six rebounds, three steals and a block. Elias Espinosa (Leonia, N.J.) contributed 13 points and four assists while Cam Schainfeld (Newton, Mass.) chipped in 12 points and five boards. Ben Rice (Hanson, Mass.) had a big night on the glass, finishing with a career-high 13 rebounds.
Albertus, which never led in the second half, scored the first six points of overtime and never trailed in bonus time. Saikwon Williams scored 18 points off the bench to lead the Falcons, who improved to 14-3 overall.
The Camels led 33-31 after a first half that saw them limit the Falcons to just 34-percent shooting. Murray netted eight points in the half to lead all scorers.
Early in the second half, Conn used a 9-0 burst to open up a 42-33 lead. Murray accounted for six points during the stretch while Espinosa also drilled a shot from deep.
Albertus never let the deficit creep into double digits, and by the 14:23 mark it had cut the margin down to two. After a quick timeout to settle down, Conn responded with another score by Murray on the way to building the lead back up. Six minutes later, Schainfeld cashed in a pair of free throws to put the visitors up nine with 8:35 remaining.
The Camels led 62-53 following a pair of free throws by Jarron Flynn (Roslindale, Mass.) with 3:55 left in regulation. Albertus whittled the deficit down to two but missed on a potential go-ahead three-pointer, and Murray corralled the rebound and later scored at the other end to put Conn up 64-60.
The Falcons scored twice in the final 41 seconds of regulation to tie the game at 64-64. The Camels had a chance at the win in the closing seconds, but a floater in the lane from Espinosa was off the mark.
Williams scored the first two baskets of extra time as the Falcons grabbed a 70-64 advantage. Conn spent the rest of the OT playing catch-up, and free throws by Schainfeld got the Camels to within two with 30 seconds to go. After Albertus' Tazhon Daniels missed a free throw to put the game out of reach, Conn had one final chance for the tie. However, the game-tying shot from beyond the arc drew iron, and the Falcons walked away with their second overtime win over the Camels in as many seasons.
Conn (12-5 overall) will next host UMass Dartmouth on Saturday, January 20 at 2:30 p.m.
