NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Connecticut College men's basketball team capped the fall semester with an 85-64 victory over Rhode Island College on Friday afternoon in non-conference play at Luce Field House.

James LaFrance (Guilford, Conn.) led all scorers with 22 points while Elias Espinosa (Leonia, N.J.) netted 17 of his 21 points in the second half. Greg Cantwell (Glen Head, N.Y.) added a double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds while Dylan Watson (Mount Kisco, N.Y.) rounded out the Camels in double digits with 10 points.

RIC shot 38 percent for the game and got only three points from its bench. Xavier Mendez paced the Anchormen (7-4 overall) with 17 points.

Cantwell and LaFrance combined for 18 points in the opening 6:42 of the contest to get the Camels out to a fast start. LaFrance caught fire for a stretch, supplying 11 straight points as Conn grabbed a 20-9 advantage.

The hosts nursed a double-digit lead for much of the half, but the Anchormen clawed back late to trim the deficit to 36-28 at intermission. RIC scored on its final possession of the half, cashing in on a long inbound from midcourt for a layup by Loudon Chupas as time expired.

Conn ramped up play on both ends of the floor in the second half, limiting the Anchormen to only two field goals in the first eight minutes of the stanza. Espinosa started the half with a three ball and didn't cool off, hitting all five of his long-range attempts in the period.

The Camels led 64-45 with 8:41 to go when the Anchormen slapped on a full-court press and took a chunk out of the margin behind a 10-2 run. Watson steadied Conn with a dunk on the break, and later he added a corner three to bump the margin to 69-55. Espinosa then laced a trio of threes in the final 3:32 to sew up the win. 

Conn (8-1 overall) will next play at the University of Hartford on Monday, December 29 at 5:00 p.m.