Colby-Sawyer (13-5) connected on its opening five field goal attempts en route to an early 11-0 lead, which was started by three straight buckets from Andrew St. Clair (SO, Pittsfield, ME/Maine Central Institute). The Jeffs (19-1) missed their initial six shots from the floor before John Donovan (SR, Holmdel, NJ/Holmdel HS) connected on the first of his team’s 16 3-pointers, 3:15 into the game.
Amherst continued to chip away and pulled ahead, 27-26, on a trifecta by Russell Lee (JR, Lorton, VA/Hayfield Secondary HS) with 6:03 to go in the half. The Chargers regained the lead 49 seconds later when Chris Condon (JR, Reading, MA/Reading Memorial HS) drained a 3-pointer that gave them their final advantage of the night. Lee, who scored 18 points off the bench, including a 5-for-6 mark for long distance, connected two more times from beyond the arc to provide the Jeffs with a 33-29 edge they would not relinquish.
Trailing 40-34 at the break, Colby-Sawyer began the second period with a St. Clair layup and a pair of free throws by Collin Bray (SO, Brookline, MA/New Hampton (NH) Prep), but would not draw any closer. Amherst used a 10-0 run to take a 55-42 lead and would remain in front by double digits for the remainder of the contest.
Donovan matched Lee’s team-high 18 points, while Adam Harper (SR, Washington DC/St. Albans School) scored 15 and Andrew Schiel (JR, Wayne, PA/Conestoga HS) had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Jeffs.
Condon led all players with 19 points, and St. Clair and Bray chipped in 14 and 13 points, respectively for the Chargers who received 60 of their 66 points from their starting five.
Both teams return to league play on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. Colby-Sawyer is headed to Newport, Rhode Island to face Commonwealth Coast Conference rival Salve Regina and the Jeffs will host New England Small College Athletic Conference for Trinity in Amherst, Massachusetts.