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Eric Anderson cuts off his piece of the net after men's basketball beats Colby for NESCAC title in February 2023
Photo: Sam Howard '23
Eric Anderson '23 cuts down the net
59
Colby COLBY 20-7, 5-5
71
Winner Hamilton HAMILTON 19-8, 7-3
Colby COLBY
20-7, 5-5
59
Final
71
Hamilton HAMILTON
19-8, 7-3
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Colby COLBY 32 27 59
Hamilton HAMILTON 21 50 71

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Jim Taylor

Men's basketball captures first NESCAC title with win over Colby

Continentals earned the automatic bid to their 12th NCAA championship appearance

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – Hamilton College shot better than 67 percent from the floor in the second half and the Continentals came from behind in a 71-59 win against the Colby College Mules in the 2023 NESCAC Men's Basketball Championship final at Williams College's Chandler Gymnasium on Sunday afternoon.
 
Season Update
  • Hamilton (19-8 overall), which was ranked fifth in Region I by the NCAA going into the weekend, earned the conference's automatic bid to the 2023 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship.
  • The Continentals will find out who and where they are playing next weekend on Monday, Feb. 27 at 1 p.m. when the tournament field is announced on NCAA.com.
  • Colby (20-7), which was ranked seventh in Hamilton's region, must wait to see if it will get one of the 20 at-large bids to the NCAA championship.
 
How It Happened
  • The Mules took their largest lead of 12 points at 35-23 on an old-fashioned 3-point play by Will King 29 seconds into the second half.
  • The Continentals responded with a 22-5 run that tilted the advantage in their favor.
  • Conner Rood '23 started the rally with 17:38 left on a 3-pointer from the right wing for Hamilton's first made basket from beyond the arc all afternoon.
  • Teja Singh '25 made a driving layup on the left side and Rood followed with a one-handed pull-up jumper in the lane that made it 35-30.
  • Hank Morgan '25 went in for a layup and added a short turnaround jumper in the lane that pulled the Continentals within two at 38-36.
  • Singh buried a 3-pointer from the top of the key for a 39-38 Hamilton lead. Colby then turned the ball over and called a timeout with 12:03 remaining.
  • Singh nailed a pull-up jumper at the free-throw line and put the Continentals ahead for good at 41-40 with 10:33 to go.
  • Singh added a turnaround jumper just outside the left side of the lane and Morgan canned a one-hander off the glass outside the lane on the right side for a 45-40 lead.
  • After the Mules cut their deficit to one point at 45-44, Morgan drove into the lane and drew the defense towards him before he turned and passed to Eric Anderson '23 for a 3-pointer from straightaway. Hamilton Head Coach Adam Stockwell immediately signaled for a timeout with 7:07 left.
  • Colby missed the front end of a 1-and-1 and Rood came down and converted a layup for a 50-44 advantage. Lucas Green drew the Mules within four with a layup on the next possession.
  • The Continentals put Colby away at that point with a 10-2 spurt. Anderson powered in for a layup from the right side and then swished a 3-pointer from the right wing.
  • After two free throws by King, Anderson passed to Regan for a layup from the right side. An Anderson free throw and a turnaround jumper by Morgan outside the left side of the lane made it 60-48 with 3:32 remaining.
  • Alex McGovern made two free throws for the Mules, but Rood responded with an eight-footer in the lane and added an offensive rebound and putback for a 14-point cushion at 64-50 with 2:13 to go.
  • Colby didn't get closer than eight points in the final two minutes. The Mules went more than seven minutes without a field goal midway through the second half and nearly five minutes without one late in the half.
  • Neither team led by more than one possession in the first half until King's jumper made it 18-13 in Colby's favor with 7:32 left.
  • Hamilton trailed by four at 23-19 with 5:01 remaining, but the Mules went on a 9-2 run the rest of the half and took a 32-21 advantage into the break.
 
Notes
  • The Continentals won their first conference title since joining the NESCAC for basketball prior to the 2011-12 season. Hamilton also reached the 2019 final.
  • The Continentals have won nine of their last 10 games with the only loss during that span coming at Colby on Feb. 11.
  • Hamilton was the No. 2 seed for the championship after the Continentals tied for first place in the conference standings with a 7-3 NESCAC record.
  • Rood was 10 of 16 from the field and finished with a team-high 22 points.
  • Morgan scored 15 points and Singh added 14. Morgan leads the team with 14.0 points per game and Singh has reached double figures in nine of the last 10.
  • Anderson added 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds off the bench. He scored all 10 after halftime.
  • King paced sixth-seeded Colby with 22 points as he was 8-for-10 from the line.
  • Green chipped in 15 points in 19 minutes off the bench.
  • It was a tale of two halves for the Mules as they were 14 of 28 from the floor in the first half and just 7 of 25 in the second.
  • Hamilton missed all nine of its 3-point shots and didn't get a single offensive rebound in the first 20 minutes.
  • The Continentals heated up in the second half as they went 4 of 7 from long range and an incredible 15 of 21 from inside the arc.
  • Colby leads the NESCAC with more than 10 made 3-pointers per game, but Hamilton's defense limited the Mules to just 5 of 19 shooting from long range.
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