NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Connecticut College men's basketball team opened NESCAC play with a 69-56 setback against Colby College on Friday night at Luce Field House.

Dan Civello fueled the Mules with 21 points, 13 rebounds and five assists in 30 minutes off the bench. Colby also got strong contributions from starters Jack Lawson and Max Poulton, who finished with 18 and 14 points, respectively.

Conn trailed by as many as 17 points in the second half but clawed its way back into the game. Elias Espinosa (Leonia, N.J.) keyed the comeback, netting 15 of his game-high 23 points after the break.

The Camels trailed 34-22 at halftime after shooting 8-for-31 from the floor in the first 20 minutes Colby built the lead in the final 7:09 of the stanza, outscoring Conn by a 14-5 margin. Civello led all scorers with 12 points at intermission. 

The Mules expanded the lead to 17 in the early stages of the second half. Conn rallied back behind an 18-3 stretch that featured 13 points from Espinosa, which included a trifecta of three-pointers from the junior forward. A jumper by Garrett Clar (Victor, N.Y.) capped the run and pulled the Camels to within two at 50-48 with 8:49 to play.

Colby bent but never broke, keeping the Camels at bay with back-to-back layups by Lawson and a three from Ben Kaczmarek. Later, after a three-point play by Clar trimmed the deficit to 59-55 with 4:46 to go, the Mules responded with 10 straight points to seal the victory.

Espinosa shot 4-for-7 from deep and was a perfect 7-for-7 at the free throw line. Clar finished with nine points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals, and Cam Schainfeld (Newton, Mass.) added seven points and five boards.

Conn (8-7 overall, 0-1 NESCAC) will next host Bowdoin College on Saturday, January 11 at 3:00 p.m.