WATERVILLE — It’ll be a pleasant start to the Thanksgiving break for the Colby College basketball teams.
Both the men’s and women’s teams left the Larry Mahaney Gym with victories over Thomas College on Tuesday night. Thanks to some strong first half shooting, including 8 of 17 on 3-pointers, the Colby men cruised to an 87-53 win over the Terriers.
Junior forward Jack Lawson led the Mules (3-2) with 15 points, while sophomore guard Max Poulton added 12.
“It’s always great to get a win, especially before the (Thanksgiving) break,” Poulton said. “We definitely focused on the defensive end, keeping (Thomas) under 60 points was definitely a win there for us.”
Sophomore guard James Phelan led Thomas (2-4) with 18 points while junior guard and Forest Hills alum Parker Desjardins scored 14.
The Terriers managed to take an early 26-20 lead in the first half. But the Mules immediately found their shooting touch, and outscored Thomas 25-5 in the final seven minutes of the half.
“It seemed like a tale of two runs in the first half,” Colby head coach Damien Strahorn said. “We got a lead, (Thomas) got a nice spurt to go up. It was nice to see our guys respond, defend and use that to get out in transition. We got the ball, penetrated and kicked (out). I think we’ve seen in the last few years it’s a lot of fun when the ball is moving around on the fly and have multiple guys out there that can make threes.”
Colby left nothing to chance in the second half, going 16 of 33 (48.5 percent) from the floor.
“Especially with the amount of new guys, getting into the flow (offensively) before break is definitely a great thing,” Poulton said. “In practice, we’ve been working on our flow, and I think that showed in the first half. In the second half, we were more defensive, getting a stop and moving in transition.”
Thomas College junior Sky Kubwalo celebrates after sinking a three pointer against Colby College during a women’s basketball game Tuesday in Waterville. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel
Earlier in the evening, the Colby women held off a strong attack from Thomas for a 62-52 victory. The Mules (5-1) were led by a pair of freshmen, as guard Kate Olenik scored 20 points and forward Amelia Hanscom added 13.
“I’m really happy,” Colby head coach Chenel Harris-Smith said. “We’re a young team. We’re predominantly playing first-years and sophomores. It’s a little bit of a roller coaster at times. Just growing pains… That was a hard-fought win. (Thomas) didn’t make it easy on us, but they’re going to be really good going forward.”
Sky Kubwalo scored 14 for the Terriers (2-4).
Play was back-and-forth between the Mules and Terriers in the first half, with Colby walking into the locker room at halftime with a 30-29 lead. A strong third quarter — Colby outscored Thomas 17-7 — helped secure the lead.
The Terriers outscored the Mules in the fourth, and even came within six points of Colby, but were never able to regain control.
“To be down one at the half, within a two possession game in the fourth quarter, with two of our top players (out with injury), our kids battled,” Thomas head coach Jason Coleman said. “What I’ve learned, in the past, is those games can turn into blowouts. But we didn’t stop. We kept fighting, we kept battling, and we played really well.”
Messalonskee alum Emily Parent added nine points for the Terriers.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
