Hamilton College's Jack Donnelly '16 poured in a career-high 23 points and the Continentals posted an 83-74 NESCAC win against the Connecticut College Camels at Hamilton's Margaret Bundy Scott Field House on Saturday afternoon.
Box Score
Donnelly was 6 of 7 from 3-point range and went 5-for-7 at the free-throw line. Peter Kazickas '15, who was playing in his last game for the Continentals, chipped in 19 points and seven rebounds. Kyle Pitman '17 contributed 14 points off the bench, Jack Dwyer '18 handed out a season-best nine assists and Wes Wilbur '17 was credited with five assists off the bench.
Hamilton (14-10, 2-8 NESCAC) had 20 assists on 29 made field goals. The Continentals shot 56.9 percent from the field, including 13 of 24 (54.2 percent) from beyond the arc. Today's contest was the season finale for both teams. Hamilton leads the all-time series, 6-5.
Conn. College (7-16, 0-10) ended its season on a 12-game skid. Zuri Pavlin '17 paced the Camels with 19 points and 14 boards. Pavlin leads the NESCAC with 11.5 rebounds per game. Conn. College held a 35-31 edge on the glass, thanks to 17 offensive rebounds. Bo McKinley '16 scored 11 points, Sean McNally '18 had 10 and Isaiah Robinson '18 added nine.
The game had a unique start to it as Joseph Lin '15 -- Hamilton's other senior -- took to the court with crutches and a brace on one of his legs. Lin, who is in the top 10 in Division III in assists per game and leads the Continentals in scoring with 14.0 points per game, was injured in a NESCAC game at Bates College last Saturday.
Hamilton was allowed to win the opening tip and the ball ended up in Donnelly's hands. Donnelly passed to Kazickas, who handed it to Lin and Lin was allowed to make an uncontested layup for the first basket of the game. McKinley dribbled to the other end of the court for another layup that evened the score. The Continentals then threw away the inbounds pass to the Camels near midcourt on purpose and the game proceeded as normal.
Hamilton scored the next nine points for an 11-2 lead. The Continentals never trailed but there were three ties. Conn. College recovered from its early deficit and tied the score at 20-20 on a layup by Colin Pascoe '17 midway through the first half. Hamilton quickly went on an 11-2 run for a 31-22 advantage with 6:31 left. Donnelly capped the spurt with a pair of 3-pointers.
Alex Hall '17 forced the third and final tie at 37-37 with a 3-pointer late in the half. Kazickas put the Continentals ahead to stay with his own trifecta with under a minute to go and Hamilton took a 40-37 edge into the break.
Donnelly made another 3-pointer on the Continentals' first possession of the second half for a 43-37 lead. The Camels were still within four points at 48-44 after a basket from long range by Doug Henton '17 with 16:52 remaining.
Hamilton scored the next six points on a jumper by Dwyer, two free throws by Donnelly and a layup by Ajani Santos '16 for a 54-44 cushion with 14:37 to go. Conn. College didn't get closer than six points the rest of the way. The Continentals' largest lead was 12 points, which they did twice, including the last time at 68-56 after a 3-pointer by Donnelly with 7:38 left.
Hamilton's 83 points are the second-highest total the Continentals scored in one game this season after the 86 they recorded in a loss against Amherst College on Jan. 9.
