Conn players fight for the rebound against John Jay college. Photo by Duncan Spaulding
On Saturday, the men’s basketball team won their fourth game in a row, narrowly defeating Salve Regina 80-78 at the Luce Field House. After starting the season 1-3, the Camels have hit their stride heading into the winter break. With only one game remaining before a few week pause for the holidays, Conn is rolling with a 5-3 record.
The winning-streak began on December 3, when the Camels took down John Jay College 77-61. Earlier in the week, Conn had fallen in overtime to Eastern Connecticut State- at the time it was the Camels’ third loss in a row.
The great effort and victory over John Jay was the perfect way to sort out some problems and gain confidence. Conn played well on both ends of the floor with Matt Vadas ’14 leading Camel scoring with 24 points and 8 rebounds.
“We are extremely pleased to get the win,” said head coach Tom Satran after the game. “I thought we did a good job keeping John Jay on the perimeter and making them take tough perimeter shots. We also ran the offense well which is good to see…We are making progress every day and I hope the guys will continue to be patient with me and one another.”
Conn solidified the strong weekend the next day, beating Medgar Evers College 62-54 over at the Coast Guard Academy. The was the second in a row for the Camels and got them back up to .500 at 3-3 on the season. Vadas continued his stellar play, netting at game-high 25 points in the win.
The Camels pushed their winning-streak up to three games on December 7 when the team defeated Wentworth Institute of Technology 66-52 at home. Vadas had 16 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists, while Rob Harrigan ’13 added 13 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. It was not the prettiest victory of the year for Conn, but a win is a win, and this one pushed the Camels above .500 for the first time since the opening game of the season.
This past weekend, the Camels made it four in a row, taking down Salve Regina in a shootout at Luce. Although Conn trailed 49-46 with fourteen minutes left in the game, the Camels rallied for a 10-0 run over the next four minutes and never looked back. Harrigan led the way with 22 points and 14 rebounds, including 5 three-pointers. Boris Jeremic ’13 scored 21 points in the win, while Vadas added 18 points and fellow freshman Taylor Hanson scored 12 points.
Next up for the Camels is an away game at Springfield College on Tuesday, December 14. It is their final game before a two and a half week break for the holidays. Conn will return to action on January 4 at home against Eastern Nazarene College. The Camels’ first NESCAC contest is not until January 14, when they will take on Amherst at home. •
Additional reporting done by William Tomasian.
