Photos Courtesy of The Office of Communications
On Saturday, February 17th, the Connecticut College Camels’ bid for a dramatic comeback win against the Amherst Mammoths fell just short. The Mammoths were able to stave off the Camels’ comeback, ultimately winning 65-57. Luce Fieldhouse, which hosted the first home NESCAC basketball tournament game in twenty-two years, was sold out, and deafening from start to finish.
After the game, Men’s Basketball Head Coach Tim Sweeney expressed that “The sting of losing hurts but I hope that as time passes our program and our fans can appreciate the significance of what this year’s team accomplished. We are grateful that we had an opportunity to compete in front of our great student & community support – and the student’s and fans gave us a tremendous boost with their energy.”
The student body showed up for their Camels, adorned in white tees that read “Saddle Up” which were distributed to fans before tip-off. With the stands packed and the white-out theme achieved, the game proved to be an electric environment for spectators. Organized cheers of “here we go camels” and “defense” rang out every few minutes, continuing until the final seconds. While the fans in attendance had of course hoped for a different result, the environment in the Luce Fieldhouse did not disappoint in its “debut” as a championship setting. Sweeney continued to praise the atmosphere, stating “We’ve had some really good crowds over the last couple of seasons, but when we made our 2nd half run to cut it to a 2 point game, that’s the loudest I’ve ever heard Luce by far. Our guys felt the energy for sure, and I knew if we had just been able to score to tie the game, the roof was going to come off.”
The Camels were led by 20 points (7/14 shooting) from forward David Murray ‘23 and 14 points (5/14 shooting) from forward Elias Espinosa ‘26. Amherst was paced by sophomore seven-footer Charlie Randall’s double-double of 22 points and ten rebounds (11-17 shooting) and junior center Will Scherer’s 14 points (7/12 shooting).
The first half was a struggle for the Camels, with Amherst jumping out to a quick 8-2 start. The Mammoths used their size advantage early and often, with Randall and Scherer going to work in the paint. Amherst ran most of their early offense through Randall at the elbow, where his combination of mid-range jumpers, running floaters, and astute high post passing were a thorn in Conn’s side. Amherst’s advantage inside was reflected in the box score, with the Mammoths totaling 34 points in the paint to the Camels’ 22. Amherst also outrebounded Conn 36 to 27 (14 to 11 offensive rebounds).
On the other side of the court, Amherst’s size once again proved to be a big difference maker, with Randall and Scherer clogging up the paint and making every drive to the basket difficult and heavily contested. Given the Camels’ difficulty scoring inside against Amherst’s twin towers big man approach, Conn’s struggles shooting threes proved to be one of the major differences in the game. The Camels only shot 17% from three for the game, and 37% from the field as a whole. In contrast, Amherst shot 48% from the field and 33% from three.
Despite all of the first-half struggles, the Camels found themselves down only 37-26 at halftime when guard Cam Schainfield ‘25 nailed a turnaround jumper in the dying seconds of the first half. The first ten minutes of the second half saw the deficit bounce between eight and twelve points. About halfway through the second half, the Camels were able to get into the bonus, which went a long way in the comeback effort.
Over the next six minutes, the Camels slowly chipped away at Amhert’s lead. A jumper from Schainfeld cut the deficit to six with 5:34 remaining, leading to an Amherst timeout. The deficit was then cut to four on a baby hook shot from Murray, and the Camels scored on a fastbreak with 4:35 to go to make it a single-possession game.
Unfortunately, this was as close as the Camels would get. Over the next few minutes, Espinosa and Randall traded baskets for the Mammoths and Camels, as the score kept bouncing between a one and two-possession game. Finally, with Amherst clinging to a three-point lead, the sophomore guard hit a tough, contested left corner three with 1:17 remaining which served as the final dagger. Over the final minute, Amherst put the game to rest at the free throw line.
On the difference between the two halves, Coach Sweeney praised Amherst for taking the Camels out of their game early on. “Credit to our opponent for playing very well in the 1st half and being the aggressor. Our guys battled in the 2nd half, but we just could not sustain enough offensive flow to get over the hump down the stretch. We had our opportunities but ultimately just came up a bit short.”
Despite the loss, the game was a moral victory in many ways for the basketball program and for Camel Athletics as a whole. The home playoff game marked one of the most successful seasons by the basketball program in recent years, and Camel Nation did not disappoint in terms of atmosphere. Luce Fieldhouse was rocking from tip-off until the final buzzer, and the Camels Men’s Basketball team will look to build on this season’s success going forward.
As for what comes next, there is a bit of a wait and see for the Camels. Though it is unlikely, it is still possible that the team earns an at-large bid to the Division III NCAA Tournament. Of the current holding pattern Sweeney said “we know that our season is likely over, but we are still preparing ourselves just in case we receive an NCAA at large bid. At worst I want our team (and Seniors) to go out on their own terms, fighting to the bitter end. For the returners, we need to use this experience to both learn from & motivate us to continue to find ways to elevate our program so that we can take the next step in terms of hanging a banner here in Luce Fieldhouse.”
As the season likely ends, Coach Sweeney made sure to make a point to recognize the graduating seniors, who have likely played their last game in Conn’s blue and white. “It’s hard to fully recognize what this group of seniors means for our program. They all believed in our vision before there was much to believe in. They have each continued to work to get better and have helped set a tone for the future that we must continue to work to elevate.” Said Sweeney. He left us with a final thank you for the seniors, and a message heading into next season: “I’d just like to thank our seniors, who have invested so much over their four years into this program. I’d also like to thank the students, families, staff and friends of the program for their support & energy into creating a memorable atmosphere for our team. We will be back.”
