McClean Buzzer Beater Lifts Men's Basketball Over WCSU

DANBURY, Conn. – Junior Donavan McClean drilled a three-pointer from the left corner as time expired to give the visitors from Mitchell College a 95-92 victory over the Western Connecticut State University men's basketball team Tuesday night at Feldman Arena. 

The Mariners (2-6 overall) got off to a good start to the new year, handing the Colonials (8-2 overall) only their second loss of the season. Senior Parris Hill led all scorers with 35 points and also grabbed 10 rebounds. McClean's clutch three gave him a season-high 31 points for the contest, and senior Joshua Ford made his return to the floor and dominated the glass with a career-high 21 rebounds to go with 11 points. 

Scoring in double figures for Western were sophomore Bobby Bynum and junior Jeremiah Washington with 14 points, junior Luis Bridtter with 13, sophomore Tre'Von Perry with 12, and sophomore Kendall Marquez with 11. Bridtter also pulled down 11 rebounds to finish with a double-double. 

Washington got things started quickly for Western with a layup in the game's first five seconds, but Hill answered with back-to-back jumpers to put Mitchell up 4-2. A McClean layup put the visitors up 16-7 with just over five minutes played, but Western went on a short 5-1 run to trim the lead to five points at 17-12. 

At the midway point of the half, Hill converted another layup to give Mitchell a 31-21 lead, but three minutes later Western closed to within four points, 34-30, following a layup by senior Claudy Casseus. After the teams traded jumpers, a 9-3 Mitchell run put the Mariners back on top by 10 points with four minutes to play, and the lead expanded to as many as 12 points with three minutes remaining. 

Western closed the half with a 12-3 run to trim the Mitchell lead 52-49 going into the locker room at halftime. 

McClean pushed the Mitchell lead to six points twice in the first five minutes of the second half, but a layup by senior Russell Payton at the 13:00 mark pulled Western even at 63-63. A McClean layup with 7:54 to play moved the Mitchell lead back to seven points, 77-70, but back-to-back threes by Western cut the margin back to a single point in less than a minute. 

A pair of Hill free throws gave Mitchell its largest lead of the second half at nine points, 85-76, with 4:32 on the clock, but the Colonials fought back once again. Another Payton layup with one minute remaining cut the Western deficit to one point at 91-90. 

After McClean hit one of two free throws with 21 second remaining, Bynum drained a 15-foot jumper with 11 seconds left to tie the score at 92-92. Junior guard Frank Martin drove the ball the length of the floor and dumped it off to Ford, who drew the attention of several defenders before finding an unguarded McClean in ther corner. McClean set his feet and released his shot well before the final buzzer sounded. With the backboard glowing red, his shot found the bottom of the net, giving Mitchell its second win over Western in three years.

For the game, Mitchell held a 50-41 advantage in rebounds, as well as a 21-19 edge in assists. Western shot 43 percent from the floor and 47 percent from the line, while Mitchell hit 54 and 70 percent, respectively.

Mitchell returns to conference play at home against Southern Vermont College on Saturday, January 10 at 1 p.m.