The Hamilton College men's basketball team outscored Colby College 18-9 in overtime to defeat the Mules 76-67 in a NESCAC game at Colby's Wadsworth Gymnasium in Waterville, Maine, on Saturday afternoon.

Hamilton (17-2, 4-2 NESCAC) -- ranked 16th in the D3hoops.com Top 25 poll – shot over 70 percent at the free-throw line, outrebounded the home team 50-45, and capitalized on 14 second-chance points.

Colby (10-9, 1-5 NESCAC) lost its fourth straight game with three of those coming in conference play.

Michael Grassey '19 led all scorers with 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Kena Gilmour '20 had 15 points and nine rebounds. Tim Doyle '19 totaled 13 points with three treys and three assists. Andrew Groll '18 collected a game-high 11 boards and chipped in eight points. Jack Dwyer '18 recorded three assists and two steals.

Matt Hanna tallied 17 points, six rebounds and four assists for Colby. Sean Gilmore was 7-for-12 from the field and had 16 points. Sam Jefferson added 15 points with four 3-pointers, and Steven Daley had eight points and nine rebounds.

Colby gained its largest lead of three points just 2:30 after the opening tip with a 3-pointer from Jefferson to make the score 5-2. Peter Hoffmann '19 responded with a jumper at 17:12 that kicked off an 8-4 run that Groll finished with a layup at 15:19, giving the lead back to Hamilton at 10-9. Daley immediately switched the lead back to Colby with a layup, but Gilmour's old-fashioned 3-point play at 13:23 was the start of 10 unanswered points for Hamilton. Doyle completed the streak with a bucket from downtown at 9:45 to extend the Continentals' cushion to nine points at 20-11 with 9:45 remaining in the first half.

The Mules got back within six points at 20-14 with a Jefferson 3-pointer at 9:34, and inched within five points at 24-19 with a Hanna 3-pointer at 7:10. Vince Conn ' 20 drained a bucket from deep at 6:05, Doyle banked in a layup at 5:28, and Gilmour put in a layup at 4:32 to complete a 7-0 run and extend the Hamilton lead to 31-19. The Continentals outscored the Mules 8-3 and ended the first half with a 39-24 lead. Gilmour kicked off the effort with an offensive board and putback with 3:00 remaining, and Groll hit a buzzer-beater to give Hamilton its largest lead.

Colby opened the second half with a 15-1 run, including two 3-pointers by Jefferson at 15:58 and 14:42 to get back within one point at 40-39 with 12:20 remaining in regulation. Grassey ended Colby's run after finishing a layup and hitting his free throw at 11:20. The Mules inched within one point at 46-45 on a layup by Hanna with nine minutes left, and Wallace Tucker made both free throws at 8:05 to give Colby its first lead of the second half at 47-46. Hoffmann instantly took back the lead for Hamilton with a layup, Gilmour added three points at 7:14, Doyle sunk a 3-pointer at 6:49, and Grassey hit a jumper at 3:50 for an eight-point Continental cushion at 58-50. Sean Gilmore scored six straight for the Mules to make the score 58-56 with 53 seconds remaining, and Hanna made both of his free throws with nine seconds left to tie the score at 58-all. Grassey had a chance to win the game in regulation for Hamilton but fell short from deep range.

The score was tied for the second time during the overtime period at 62-62 with 2:52 left when Doyle's 3-pointer gave Hamilton the lead for good with 2:40 remaining. Grassey hit a 3-point jumper at 1:28 to give Hamilton a six-point lead at 70-64. Dwyer sunk all four of his free throws in the final minute, and Conn closed the scoring by going 2-for-2 at the charity stripe with eight seconds left.

Hamilton returns to Maine on Friday, Feb. 2 to face Bates College at 7 p.m. followed by a 3 p.m. contest on Saturday at Tufts University in Medford, Mass.