WATERVILLE β Most basketball players go there entire career without making a game-winning shot at the buzzer, Now Colby College junior Ty Williams has a pair.
A guard, Williams banked in a 3-pointer as time expired Tuesday night, giving the Mules a 101-98 non-conference win over Husson at Wadsworth Gymnasium.
Coming out of a timeout with 2.4 seconds left, Colbyβs Noah Tyson inbounded the ball near the Mulesβ side of midcourt. Tyson got the ball to Williams near the top of the key, and Williams dribbled, turned, and took his shot. It banked in as the horn sounded, setting off a Colby celebration.
βTy made a great shot,β Colby coach Damien Strahorn said. βWeβve been on the other side of those (close games) in the last couple league games, so itβs good for the guys to be on this end.β
Williams also made a buzzer beater in his first collegiate game as a freshman, helping the Mules beat Pine Manor.
βI was like the third option, but they took away the other two, and it ended up in my hands,β Williams said of Tuesdayβs shot, adding it felt good when it left his hand.
The Colby (13-5) win overshadowed a strong comeback bid by the Eagles. Down 56-42 at the half, Husson (10-7) trailed by 17, 59-42, when Colbyβs Alex Dorion made a three in the first minute of the second half. Colby was 13 for 24 from three in the first half, but Husson tightened up defensively, doing a better job closing out on the Mulesβ perimeter shooters and contesting drives to the basket.
βItβs what weβve been all year. Weβre really young, and weβve played with some inconsistencies within a game, within a half, within a week, you name it,β Husson coach Warren Caruso said. βI felt like our guys got better connected and contested threes better and the numbers show it.β
Justin Martinβs layup with 6:33 left in the game gave the Eagles their first lead, 84-82. Just over 30 seconds later, another Martin layup gave Husson a four-point lead. A Winslow native, Martin led Husson with 22 points and 19 rebounds.
βThey started pushing it more and got a lot of transition points, and we werenβt sprinting back and didnβt pick up our man,β Williams said.
Added Strahorn: βThe game in the first half was certainly going in a certain direction, and as you know, Hussonβs going to fight and battle to the end. They did a good job forcing us into contested shots at the rim. It was a different half, in terms of the way we were able to move the ball. Weβve got to be able to make sure we can still generate good shots. I thought we got a little bit loose for a while there.β
A Brett Cunningham jumper with 4:17 left gave Husson its biggest lead, 93-87. Colby rallied, retaking the lead, 96-95, on a Williams layup off his own steal with 1:18 left. A Martin basket with 51 seconds to play returned a one-point lead to Husson. Following a Wallace Tucker (17 points) miss for Colby, Hussonβs Corey Kaiser made the first of two free throws to give the Eagles a two-point lead with 22 seconds left.
Tuckerβs layup with 13 seconds left tied the game at 98-all, and the Eagles had a chance to take the lead again when Justice Kendall went to the line with four seconds left. Kendall missed the first shot, and the rebound went out of bounds off the Eagles. A Kyanti Blyden foul set Colby up with the pivotal inbounds play with 2.4 seconds remaining.
βWe just missed some foul shots. I thought that was the biggest key. We make those foul shots, we keep the two-possession lead,β Caruso said. βIt takes a great play at the end to win it. It was a great college basketball game.β
Sam Jefferson led Colby with 29 points, making 7 of 12 3-point tries. After making 13 of 24 threes in the first half, the Mules were 5 of 15 from three in the second.
Travis Lazarczyk β 861-9242
Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM
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