The Colby Echo

Issue date: 2/23/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Courtesy of the Middlebury Campus

On Jan. 12 of this year the Mules men's basketball team suffered a frustrating loss to league opponent Middlebury College. The Panthers managed to defeat the Mules by a spread of seven at this away game towards the end of regular season.

As much as the team knew they should have come away from that game with a win, the Mules managed to step up to beat the Panthers when it counted this past weekend. The men traveled to Middlebury for a much-anticipated rematch this past Saturday in the New England Small College Athletic Conference quarterfinal matchup. As has been the case for this team this year, the men came from behind to clinch a crucial victory. Senior Captain Nick Farrell said, "We stayed calm and chipped away at them, eventually getting it back to within five with 1:30 left. We tied the game two possessions later to put us into OT and never looked back."

This has become natural for the Mules this season as they have been able to spark their own intensity to come back from such deficits. The Mules were behind 57-43 with a little over 13 minutes left, but Colby battled back with a 21-7 run that ended with Farrell hitting a three to tie the game 64-64 with five minutes left. In overtime, senior Michael Westbrooks helped put Colby on top for good with a lay-up with four minutes left. Senior Captain Drew Cohen helped lead his team once again with 26 points 11 rebounds and five blocked shots. He was also recently named D3hoops.com National Team of the Week as well as earning NESCAC and ECAC honors. Cohen's fellow captain Farrell also contributed 22 points, consisting of four 3-point shots and five rebounds. Other key players were Mac Simpson '09 with 14 points and five rebounds, Adam Choice '10 with 12 points and seven boards, and Westbrooks with eight points and eight rebounds.

This win advanced the Mules to the NESCAC final four. The last time Colby was in the NESCAC semifinals was in the 2000-2001 season. The men will now travel to top-seeded Amherst College in the semifinal game at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 24. Farrell commented on the semifinal match. "With every game we are getting a little more confidence and it is all happening at the perfect time. Amherst will be tough as always, but I think the difference this time around is that we aren't scared of them. We know they are beatable."

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