Men’s Basketball Drops Heartbreaker at Colby-Sawyer

NEW LONDON, N.H. – Chaz Cullum converted on a go-ahead layup in the waning seconds of play to send the Colby-Sawyer College men's basketball team past Mitchell College 54-52 on Saturday afternoon in a GNAC battle at the David L. Coffin Field House. The Mariners drop to 2-6 in conference play with the loss, while the Chargers improve their record to .500 in GNAC action at 4-4.

Junior Jaylyn Clardy (Pensacola, Fla.) netted a team-high 17 points for the Mariners, who shot just 30.6% from the floor and were 2-15 from three-point territory. Clardy added eight rebounds and three steals, while junior Wilton Causey (Worcester, Mass.) chipped in 14 points off the bench, and senior Dontae Pollard (Fort Walton Beach, Fla.) finished with 13 points, eight rebounds, and four assists.

After scoring just 16 points in the opening half, the Mariners opened the second stanza with a renewed sense of intensity, scoring the first four points and eventually taking their first lead of the game with 9:10 remaining on a pull up jumper by Dontae Pollard.

A three-pointer by Jaylyn Clardy followed to make it a four-point game, but the Chargers tied the score at 46-46 when Nick Grant knocked down a basket with 6:31 on the clock. Two made free throws by Brandon Lee (Stockton, Cali.) followed to push the Mariners back on top, and again Colby-Sawyer would draw even, this time when Michael Joanou connected from downtown with just over four minutes remaining. The Mariners leapt back ahead right after on a layup by Wilton Causey, but the lead was again short-lived, as a Nick Grant layup knotted the score at 54-54 at the 1:21 mark.

With 25 seconds remaining and the score still tied at 54, Wilton Causey was fouled and missed both shots from the free throw line, leading to a Chargers rebound off the miss. Playing for the win and with the shot clock off, Colby-Sawyer's Chaz Cullum brought the ball down court and set up at the top of the key. Cullum then took a high ball screen, got past his man, and converted on the game-winning layup with 2.5 seconds to go, sealing the victory for the home squad.

Nick Grant tallied a game-high 20 points on 8-16 shooting for the Chargers. Bullen Taban notched a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Cullum finished with 11 points, six rebounds, four assists, and four steals for a Colby-Sawyer team that shot 42.1% from the floor and went just 3-11 from downtown.

The Mariners (5-14, 2-6 GNAC) will look to get back on track when they host Anna Maria College in the second game of a home GNAC doubleheader on Tuesday, January 30th, at 7:00 pm. The Chargers (8-11, 4-4 GNAC) return to play and will try to make it two wins in a row when they visit Lasell University on Thursday, February 1st.