Men's Basketball Loses Shootout to WCSU

NEW LONDON, Conn. – Western Connecticut State University shot 57 percent from the floor in a 105-97 victory at Mitchell College on Wednesday evening in a non-conference men's basketball contest at the Yarnall Athletic Center.

Luis Bridtter was one of six Colonials in double digits with 27 points on 12-for-18 shooting. Phil Starks added 26 points and 11 assists and shot 6-for-8 from three-point range. Aaron Samuel and Ryan Belote chipped in with 14 points apiece while Tre'Von Perry and Jauch Green each contributed 10.

Parris Hill made his return to the floor for the Mariners and finished with 28 points and eight rebounds. Donavan McClean also netted 28 points while Domenico Santiago recorded a double-double with 22 points and 14 rebounds. Frank Martin rounded out Mitchell's double-digit scorers with 10 points and added four steals.

Mitchell jumped out to an 11-3 lead in the first three minutes of the game and stayed in front until a jumper by Samuel put Western ahead 29-28 with 9:52 remaining in the half. The Mariners regained the lead with 7:29 to go on a dunk by McClean, one of three in the half for the senior guard.

Later in the stanza, McClean and Santiago combined for nine straight points as Mitchell opened up its biggest lead at 48-38 with 3:58 to play. However, Western responded by scoring 13 of the final 15 points of the half, including a three ball by Starks that gave the Colonials a 51-50 lead heading into the break.

The teams traded baskets in the second half until Western scored six straight points to go up by eight with 11:52 to go. The Mariners whittled the margin down to two following a three-pointer by Brayvon Young, and later a three-point play by McLean made it a one-point game with 5:52 remaining. Starks once again had the answer on the other end, draining a three to keep the Colonials on top.

Starks hit another big shot from deep with under three minutes to play, but the final dagger was delivered by Belote. With the shot clock winding down he drained a fall-away three from the corner to put the Colonials up 103-93 with just over a minute to go.

Mitchell's offense was sharp despite a 20-day layoff, finishing with season highs in both points and shooting percentage (56 percent). Hill showed little signs of rust in his first action of the season, shooting 11-for-14 from the floor and adding two blocks. Alan Morgan also turned in a solid game for the Mariners with a career-high 11 assists to go with six points.

Mitchell (1-6 overall) will next play at Southern Vermont College on Saturday, January 9 at 3 p.m. Western (8-4 overall) returns to action at home against UMass Dartmouth on Saturday at 3 p.m.