Williamstown, Massachusetts - In a tough stretch of conference games, Colby men's basketball team has become somewhat of a Rorschach test. Their variability has resulted in the bench players topping the scoring charts against Hamilton, while today against Williams, Jack Lawson put up 30 points alone. The Mules pass the eye test; they score effectively, work hard on defense, and have talent that justifies their fifth place position in the NESCAC standings, but game-by-game, you see something new every time, a testament to their depth but also recent struggles. Colby fell to Williams tonight at home, 83-90, taking them to 13-8 overall and 4-3 in NESCAC conference play.

The Mules got out to a strong start against the Ephs, leading for the majority of the half in an evenly-matched affair. Williams had no match for Lawson early on and he made them pay, putting up 16 points and drawing two fouls in the process. His presence down low has been crucial for Colby this season, especially tonight as the Mules struggled from three. Around two minutes to go in the first, the tide changed as Williams erased a 7-point deficit and quickly went up 8 points. Colby took a timeout after the Ephs drew level, but unfortunately didn't stop their momentum and trailed 35-43 heading into half.

Coming out of the break, Colby responded well to the deficit but continued to chase the game. They remained patient, which translated into efficiency on offense, but defensively, they found it difficult to slow Williams down. Max Poulton came alive in the second half, burying three triples later on to pull Colby within single-digits. Sam Hinman knocked another three down minutes later to bring the deficit to 5, but the Mules couldn't close the gap and were forced to foul.

Colby is back in action tomorrow at 3 pm as they travel up to Vermont to take on Middlebury.