WATERVILLE — The Colby men’s basketball team found its shot against Husson on Tuesday night.
And the Mules found it in a big way.
Up 40-28 at halftime, the Mules made 11 of their 18 3-pointers in the second half en route to an 88-67 victory over Husson in a non-conference matchup at the Crook Center.
“It felt really good (to win),” said Colby guard Noah Tyson, who finished with eight points and 10 rebounds. “I think we had eight, nine guys out today, just because of injury or sickness, stuff like that. To have 11 guys come out and battle, we played well as a team. Guys stepped up like crazy. I thought (sophomore guard) Lucas Green was huge for us (Tuesday). It’s nice to see everybody come together as a team, play well and get the job done.”
Colby (8-8) snapped a four-game losing streak. Husson fell to 5-7.
“Obviously, it was a rough stretch for us,” Colby guard Alec McGovern said. “We had to look individually deep down and see what we could bring to the table. I think we just came together and honestly, wanted to stop losing. We know this program is better than that, and we think we have it in us. Hopefully, this is a good stretch for us and we keep it going forward.”
Four players scored 10 points or more for the Mules. Green had a double-double, scoring 14 points and adding 10 assists. McGovern, a junior, also had 14 points and eight rebounds. Freshman forward Jack Lawson had 12 points, while sophomore guard Liam O’Connell added 11 points.
Colby battled with Husson early but became more settled in by the end of the half, entering the locker room with the 40-28 lead. But the Mules truly found their groove in the second half. O’Connell and junior Cooper Wirkala each nailed three 3-pointers for Colby, which finished 17 of 30 (56.67) percent in field goals in the second half alone, outscoring Husson by a 48-39 margin.
“We definitely had a couple of (shooting) slumps over the last couple of games, part of that losing streak was we weren’t making shots,” Tyson said. “We felt, just watching film, that we were taking good shots, we just weren’t making them. We were running our actions right. So tonight, just to see everything come through, to stay the course, run our stuff and see our shots kind of go in, it’s huge for all of us.”
Though the Eagles couldn’t catch up to Colby’s hot hand, they battled throughout. Guard Justin Thompson scored a game-high 22 points, while teammate Justice Campbell added 13 points.
Colby’s next challenge will be to get in the win column in New England Small College Athletic Conference play Saturday, when it hosts rival Bowdoin College (9-7, 0-3 NESCAC). Colby is 0-3 in NESCAC play this season.
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