Men’s Basketball Captures First NESCAC Title With Win Over Colby

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. They will face Montclair State University (22-5) in the first round of the tournament on Friday, March 3, at 3:30 p.m. at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. (See the full tournament bracket.)

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.