Men’s Basketball Clips Colby Sawyer, 86-77

NEW LONDON, N.H.  – A trio of players in Thomas Duffy, Jonathan Eng and Nate Hale all scored 19 points apiece to anchor Suffolk men's basketball's 86-77 win over Colby Sawyer afternoon at the David L. Coffin Fieldhouse.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 86 | Colby Sawyer 77
RECORDS: Suffolk (13-10, 5-4 GNAC) | Colby Sawyer (10-13, 4-5 GNAC)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
Suffolk's early 15-8 lead didn't hold as Colby Sawyer charged ahead behind a 10-8 run to trim the gap to one, 19-18, at the 8:43 minute mark. The lead would exchange twice over the next two possessions before Max Bonney-Liles buried a bucket and Duffy provided six straight points to give the Rams a 27-20 lead with 5:00 to play before the break.  

It was hoop-for-hoop action the rest of the way until Bonney-Liles' triple followed a Duffy basket to send Suffolk into the locker room up 41-28. 

Eng heated up out of the break. The senior sunk his third and fourth treys of the day apart of a Rams' 11-4 run that push the margin to 20, 42-32, less than four minutes into the second half.  

That 20-point cushion held and hit 22, twice, with the last coming when Hale hit a bucket from behind-the-arc at the 12:21 minute mark.  

The Chargers made a comeback from there as they outscored Suffolk, 12-3, to pull back within 13, 65-52, with 8:43 left in regulation.   

Three straight Suffolk hoops - one apiece from Hale, Eng and Connor Byrne - restored the 20-point distance with just over seven minutes to play.  

Colby Sawyer did not let up and persistence looked to pay off for the hosts as they made things interesting with another scoring frenzy. This time the Chargers went on an 8-2 run to slice the distance down to 11 with 1:17 on the clock.  

Suffolk had to take care of business at the free throw line, and did. The Chargers would not take defeat, making the Rams answer all of their buckets down the stretch with freebies to secure the 86-75 victory. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Duffy finished the day with a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds. He shot 6-for-10 from the field and went 7-for-8 at the charity stripe, while nine of his 10 caroms were on the defensive end. He added four assists and three steals. 
• Eng notched 19 points behind a 6-for-7 showing from the floor, which including a 4-for-5 effort from behind-the-arc. He chipped in three caroms, three dimes and one swat. 
• Hale's 19 points came off the bench with the Rams' reserve shooting 6-for-12 on the day and 5-for-8 from downtown. The junior added a pair of rebounds, one assist and one takeaway. 
• Bonney-Liles was on the verge of double figures with nine points to his credit. 
• Suffolk shot 48.3 percent (28-58) as a team, 41.7 percent (10-24) from three-point land and 83.3 percent (20-24) at the line. 
• The Rams edged out the Chargers in rebounds, 39-32.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk defeated Colby Sawyer in back-to-back meetings to level the series at 3-3. 
• The Rams are unbeaten, 2-0, against the Chargers in the Jeff Juron era. 
• Suffolk bested CSC in New London for the first time in program history. 
• Eng notched a career-high in points (19), while matching a personal-best field goals made (6) and three-point field goals made (4). 
• Duffy notched his fourth career double-double, first of the season, and first since Jan. 22, 2019. 
• Hale had a new career-high treys made with five.  

POST-GAME PIC
  

COMING UP
Suffolk returns to the friendly confines of the Larry E. and Michael S. Smith Court Tuesday, Feb. 18 when it hosts Saint Joseph's (Maine). The Rams and Monks will tangle at 8 p.m. following the women's 6 p.m. match up against Colby Sawyer.