Waterville, Maine - Colby Men's Basketball kicked off their season tonight, hosting the Worcester St. Lancers in the two-day Colby Tip-Off Tournament. The Mules held off a late run from the Lancers to win 82-72, taking their record to 1-0. Sam Hinman came off the bench to lead the team in scoring with 20 points while Savion Stroud had ten rebounds.

Colby started the game strong but couldn't break away as both teams traded shots. Ten minutes into the half, Worcester St. had cut the deficit to one, prompting a big scoring run from the Mules. Hinman lead the surge, knocking down five threes to end the half with fifteen points. Colby's double-digit lead became under threat with two minutes to go but well-worked offensive sequences led to Marcos Montiel and Jack Lawson converting two layups to increase the Mules' lead to sixteen. Colby lead 43-27 heading into the half.

Coming out of the break the Mules pulled away even more. For four minutes straight, Colby's defense kept the Lancers off the scoreboard and on the offensive end, increased their lead to twenty-eight. Max Poulton knocked down a three while Nate Kwiecinski had a fast break dunk–resulting in a questionable technical foul which the away team was grateful for as Colby's momentum was unstoppable. After the pause in play, the Mules held their 20+ lead through Marcos Montiel as the sophomore found his rhythm and posted eight second-half points. With five minutes to go, the Lancers cut the lead to fifteen–eventually dropping the deficit to as low as eight with two minutes left. Poulton responded with four points while Hinman knocked down two free throws after Worcester St. was forced to foul.

Although Colby led by as much as twenty-nine, the Lancers' late surge tested their composure and ability to finish games. The Mules responded brilliantly and showed that they're more than capable of switching on when needed.

Colby hosts the University of Maine-Farmington tomorrow, November 17, at noon.