Men's Basketball Can't Catch Conn College

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Connecticut College men's basketball team never trailed in an 83-74 victory over Mitchell College on Tuesday evening in non-conference action at the Yarnall Athletic Center.

Matt Vadas led the Camels (4-5 overall) with 23 points and reached the 1,000-point plateau for his career. Aaron McBurnie also pitched in with 22 points and eight rebounds while Jared Shill handed out a game-high 10 assists and added eight boards.

Senior Alex Del Rio netted a career-high 25 points and shot 5-for-9 from long range to lead the Mariners (5-4 overall). Classmates Joshua Ford and Anthony Epps chipped in with 13 and 11 points, respectively.

Vadas needed 16 points entering the contest to reach 1,000 for his career. The junior co-captain got out to a hot start, burying back-to-back threes on Conn's opening two possessions and scoring the team's first 10 points. Only foul trouble slowed his march to the milestone, as he picked up his second personal with 14:49 to go in the half and took a seat on the bench.

Mitchell trailed by eight when Vadas left the game and promptly cut into the deficit. The Mariners scored six straight to pull within two at the 12:50 mark, but a lay-up by Bryan Gross squashed the run and kept the Camels in front.

After only 2:30 on the bench, Vadas re-entered the game and quickly drilled another three and was fouled on the play. He hit the free throw to convert the rare four-point play, leaving him only two points shy of the milestone. Minutes later he grabbed a rebound on the defensive end and raced up court with a purpose, pulling up at the free throw line and knocking down a jumper to eclipse the mark with 8:33 to play.

Conn led by as many as 11 points in the stanza, though Mitchell whittled the margin down to three behind a 9-3 spurt that Ford capped with a pair of free throws with 1:15 to go. McBurnie completed the first half scoring with a lay-in to give the Camels a 40-35 lead at the break. Vadas led all scorers with 16 points at intermission.

The second half had a similar theme, as Mitchell hung around and threatened to pull in front. Though the Mariners made it a single-possession game at five different points in the half, Conn responded with a basket each time.

A lay-up by Del Rio cut the margin to 57-55 with 11:02 to play, and following a Vadas miss the Mariners finally had a chance to pull even or take the lead. However, Gross came up with a big steal on the defensive end, and the Camels came right back to McBurnie for a bucket in the paint. Conn then rolled the lead back up to nine following another three by Vadas and a jumper by McBurnie.

The Mariners never got closer than five points the rest of the way, and a late 15-3 run by Conn put the game out of reach. Vadas shot 9-for-18 from the floor and hit four three-pointers. He also finished with seven rebounds and four assists on his memorable night. McBurnie recorded 15 of his 22 points in the second half, and Gross and Pat Deegan also finished in double figures with 11 points apiece.

Mitchell will next play at Regis College on Tuesday, January 8 at 7:30 p.m.