NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Connecticut College men's basketball team dropped its home opener by a 59-54 final against Coast Guard Academy on Wednesday night at Luce Field House.

Coast Guard led by as many as 15 points in the second half but saw the margin shrink to as little as two. However, the Bears held off the Camels down the stretch thanks to some clutch threes by Ben Yagey and Trevor Parks.

Cameron Brown led all scorers with 13 points and added six rebounds to lead the Bears (1-1 overall) to their first win of the season. Parks chipped in 12 points, six boards and three blocks. Cam Schainfeld (Newton, Mass.), Elias Espinosa (Leonia, N.J.) and Quron Zene Jr. (Windsor, Conn.) each scored 11 points to lead the Camels on offense. 

The score was tight in the opening minutes until Luke Farrell drained a pair of free throws to put Coast Guard on top 11-10. The Bears never trailed again, padding the lead to eight behind back-to-back layups by Bryce VanderWiere and a three by Parks.

Zene helped keep the Camels close, netting eight of his 11 points in the opening half. A three by Espinosa cut the deficit to 27-24 with 6:12 to go, but the Bears scored the final nine points of the half to lead by 12 at the break. Behind the post play of Farrell and Brown, Coast Guard outscored Conn 16-6 in the paint for the half.

Following intermission, the Bears took their largest lead right out of the gate thanks to three free throws from Elijah Parent. The Camels spent the rest of the half playing catch up, but just couldn't make it all the way back. A 12-3 run cut the lead to 47-44 with 9:10 to play, but Coast Guard answered right back with a three by Parent and a bucket by Farrell.

Conn, which got into the bonus with nearly 12 minutes left in the half, chipped its way back into the game from the free throw line. Later, a steal by RJ Casey (Nashville, Tenn.) led to a dunk by Dylan Watson (Mount Kisco, N.Y.) that cut the margin to 52-50 with 6:04 left.

After the Camels missed a potential go-ahead three, Yagey drilled a deep trey with the shot clock winding down to get Coast Guard back on track. On their next possession, the Bears got a transition three from Parks to extend the lead to 58-52 with 3:54 to play.

Coast Guard didn't make another field goal the rest of the way, but Conn went equally as cold from the floor (1-for-8). The Bears iced the game on a free throw by Brown in the final seconds, earning their first win over the Camels since 2018.

Conn (1-2 overall) will next host the University of Hartford on Saturday, November 23 at 2:30 p.m.