NEW LONDON, N.H. – January 31, 2017 – Junior Taylor Grande (Bedford, N.H.) scored eight of his 19 points in overtime to lead the Colby-Sawyer men's basketball team a 77-74 North Atlantic Conference (NAC) victory over Castleton on Tuesday evening.   

Colby-Sawyer improves to 9-11 overall and 6-7 in the NAC. The Chargers will host New England College on Saturday at 1 p.m. Castleton drops to 12-6 overall and 7-5 in the conference. The Spartans return to Rutland to host Thomas on Friday and UMaine-Farmington on Saturday.

Grande tied for the game lead with 19 points along with freshman Dana Bean (Franklin, N.H.). Grande added five assists and three steals. Bean made 9-of-10 from the free throw line and grabbed six rebounds. Freshman Patrick Coffey (Westford, Mass.) was the third Charger to reach double figures with 12 points. Reigning D3hoops.com team of the week honoree Jourdain Bell (Manchester, N.H.) finished with nine points, nine rebounds, six assists and four steals.

Castleton was led by senior Chad Copeland's (Plainfield, Vt.) double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds. Junior Tondi Mushandu (Zimbabwe) and sophomore Edmund Fitzgerald (Yonkers, N.Y.) had 14 points apiece. Fitzgerald added an impressive five blocks. Sophomore Jordan Nelson (Troy, N.Y.) rounded out the four Spartans in double figures with 11 points.

The Chargers held a 63-61 lead with 2:21 left in regulation after a pair of Bean free throws. Castleton tied the game seconds later on a Nelson layup. Neither team could take advantage of possessions down the stretch and the game headed to overtime.

Grande then took over at the start of overtime. He opened the extra session with a trey. Nelson pulled the Spartans to within one after a steal that he took coast to coast. Dana Bean put Colby-Sawyer back in front on the next possession, but Nelson answered with a three-pointer to tie the game at 68-68 two minutes into the period. Grande scored five of the game's next seven points to give the Chargers a 73-70 lead with 1:29 remaining. Castleton then scored back-to-back buckets to take a 74-73 lead with 28 seconds on the clock. Dana Bean once again put the Chargers back on top in the next possession with a 10-foot jumper. He added two free throws with a second left to secure the 77-74 victory for Colby-Sawyer.

The first half featured 26 combined turnovers, but Colby-Sawyer turned 14 Castleton turnovers into 12 points, while the Spartans failed to capitalize. Half of each team's made baskets came from beyond the arc.

The visitors opened the game with a trey by Ben Mrowka (Adelaide, Australia), but the Chargers then scored 11 straight points to take an eight-point lead. The Colby-Sawyer lead ballooned to 15 after a three-pointer from Austin Whaley (Enfield, N.H.) with 5:27 left in the frame. Castleton was able to score the half's final five points to trail 29-22 heading into the locker room.

Colby-Sawyer held a comfortable lead for much of the second half until the Spartans climbed all the way back to tie the game, for the first time since the score was 3-3, with a pair of free throws from Mushandu to make the score 52-52 with 6:39 left. The game went back and forth over the final several minutes and ended tied at 63-63 after regulation.

Castleton shot 54.5% from the floor, while Colby-Sawyer shot 44% from beyond the arc to make five more three-pointers than the Spartans.   

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