Waterville, Maine - The hype of rivalry games creates immense pressure for any athlete, either making diamonds or causing even the best of the best to crumble. Tonight, this match had all the hype as Colby took down Bowdoin, leaving plenty of crumbs while the Mules shined. Colby fought back from multiple lead changes, scoring droughts, and foul trouble but came up clutch when it mattered, winning 72-62. This emphatic win takes Colby to 6-4 on the season while Bowdoin drops to 4-6.
Contrary to how the game ended, the Mules started slow. A heads up play by Matthew Lamy to get backdoor for a layup tied the game up at 10 and gave the Mules momentum. Liam O'Connell started strong too with a three and tough go ahead finish at the rim. Colby extended their lead as O'Connell found fellow senior Lucas Green with an inch perfect pass for a layup, drawing a Bowdoin timeout. The Polar Bears responded as they continued to score inside, finding mismatches on ball screens. But a steal and consecutive layup from Marcos Montiel gave Colby back the lead not long after. The first half continued to go back and forth as both teams couldn't get baskets to fall. A low scoring 26-27 half saw Colby down one heading into the break.
The second half couldn't separate the teams anymore than the first. Max Poulton got back on the board with a contested three from deep, following it up with a step back mid range shot, drawing a foul. Poulton continued to stay hot, getting to the basket through defenders on two occasions. Montiel did the same, blowing by anyone no matter their height. On the defensive end the Mules got into foul territory, giving Bowdoin looks from the free throw line to keep the game tight. Minutes later Jack Lawson was sent to the line, taking Colby into the bonus. Montiel got a steal later on, his second steal and consecutive basket of the game, this time putting the Mules within three. Montiel continued to put the team on his back, hitting a heavily contested three pointer. A consecutive breakaway steal from Poulton led to a foul on an attempted dunk from Ben Kaczmarek, igniting the home fans. Kaczmarek got open in the corner the next possession, knocking down a three to give the Mules a six point lead. Montiel got another steal on an inbound play which led to a contested layup from Poulton, giving Colby an eight point lead–their largest of the game which essentially sealed the win. From then on, multiple intentional fouls sent Colby to the line to close out a hard fought night. Poulton ended as the game's leading scorer with 19, while Montiel and Lawson had 17 and 15 respectively.
This win was huge for Colby as they beat their biggest rivals heading into another rivalry game against Bates. The Mules travel to Lewiston this Saturday to take on the Bobcats looking to close out 2023 with another big win.
