WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – Looking to get above .500 for the first time this season after a convincing 42-point victory last Tuesday against Johnson & Wales University, Eastern Connecticut State University men's basketball played the second game of its four-game homestand against Connecticut College in Geissler Gymnasium Sunday afternoon.

Coming into the matchup, the Warriors (4-3) had won their previous three games against the Camels (1-3) all by double-digits. On Sunday, the two teams would go back and forth with Eastern coming away with the thrilling 70-61 victory at home after a career day from junior forward Quinton Lott (Bridgeport) to extend the Warrior's winning streak to two games and head into conference play with an above .500 record.

Never trailing in the first half, Eastern jumped out to a 6-0 lead over the first three minutes and change with a pair of layups from Lott and layup by senior guard Tyreice Woods (Hartford). The run was broken by sophomore guard Jarron Flynn who converted a layup of his own to bring Conn College within four. Lott and Woods would respond with another run of their own, this time scoring the next four consecutive points for Eastern to go ahead by seven, 10-3, in the early stages of the first half.

Eastern's lead would not be threatened until the latter part of the first half when the Camels cut the Warrior's six-point advantage in half with a three-pointer by sophomore guard Billy Whelan that made it 17-14. However, another 4-0 run by the forward-guard duo of Lott and Woods would help Eastern regain their footing and get back out in front with just over 7 ½ minutes remaining in the half. Holding steady with the seven-point lead, Conn College looked to make a run and take their first lead of the game when senior guard Austin Lavitt knocked down a pair of threes to bring the Camels within one, 26-25 with 4 ½ minutes left.

 

Over the final 4 ½ minutes of the first half, the Warriors used an 11-3 run spearheaded by two three-pointers from senior guard Thomas Close (East Hampton), another three-pointer from Woods, and a layup off the bench from junior forward Rakesh Tibby (East Hartford) to carry a 37-28 lead heading into the halftime break. Tibby would finish with six first half points off the bench while Close would score nine points in the opening 20 minutes of play on 3-of-4 shooting from behind the three-point line.

In the first half, the Lott-Woods duo combined for 20 Eastern points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field including 1-of-3 shooting from three to go along with 7-of-8 shooting from the foul line. Sophomore guard Max Lee (Norwich) continued his stellar start to the season with another big first half, stuffing the stat sheet with two points, five assists, four rebounds, and three steals.

The Camels would slice into the Warrior lead early on in the second half, going on a 10-4 run over the first four minutes. The charge was led by first-year forward Andrew Hartel who scored four of the 10 points during the run which pulled Conn College within three. A pair of Lott free throws pushed Eastern's lead back to five, but the Camels would be unrelenting in their pursuit of tying up the score as first-year guard Cam Schainfeld responded with a jumper that trimmed the deficit back down to three. Schainfeld would knock down a three, following a three-point play by Woods which briefly extended the Warrior lead back up to six, making it five straight points for the guard and keeping Conn College within three, 46-43.

With 11:49 remaining in regulation, the Camels would take their first lead of the game after a turnover by senior guard Cory Muckle (Westbrook) resulted in a Jarron Flynn layup to put Conn College in front 47-46. After missing the free throw attempt that followed the make, Flynn would knock down a three-pointer to cap off a 7-0 run for the Camels which saw them go ahead by four, 50-46. But like in the first half, Quinton Lott continued to lead the way for the Warriors and rattled off five consecutive points to put Eastern back ahead by one with 9:16 remaining. Tied at 54 all, Lott would then convert on the and-one opportunity to give the Warriors their largest lead since 14:11 left in the second half at three points, 57-54. The incredible second half for Lott resulted in a stretch in which the junior scored 15 of Eastern's 18 points, including a 10-4 run by Lott himself leading to the Warriors taking a six-point lead, 64-58, with just under two minutes remaining in regulation.

Lott would seal the deal for Eastern, converting another layup with 32 seconds remaining in regulation to cap off a stretch in which he would score 12 straight points for his team and put the Warriors ahead by five, 66-61. That final basket would give Lott a career-high 30 points on 8-of-11 shooting, eight rebounds, and a career-high in both free throws made and free throws attempted as the Bridgeport native finished 14-for-16 (87.5%) from the free throw line.  

Max Lee would convert on all four of his free throw attempts in the final 24 seconds en route to Eastern's 70-61 win and finish the afternoon with six points, eight assists, seven rebounds, four steals, and one block while playing all 40 minutes of the game.

Lott became the sixth player in the Little East Conference to score at least 30 points in a game. Rhode Island's Shion Darby has reached the number three times, with Keyshaun Jacobs of Rhode Island and Chance Dixon of the University of Southern Maine each reaching that total once. Lott's 16 free throw attempts and 14 made are the most in a game by a Little East player this year, while Lee's 13 assists against Johnson & Wales University and seven steals against St. Joseph's College New York represent game highs in the LEC this season.

The Warriors will play host to UMass Boston in the first conference game for both teams this season next Saturday, December 4^th in Geissler Gymnasium. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 PM. This will be the first matchup between the two teams since the 2019-2020 season in which the Beacons swept the Warriors in the pair of Little East Conference games in Geissler Gymnasium, 62-58, and on their home court 73-65. The first win on January 4^th, 2020 snapped Eastern's 23-game win streak against UMass Boston dating back to the 2007-2008 season when the Warriors began the streak with a 16-point victory at home.