HENNIKER, N.H. – The Colby-Sawyer men's basketball used a 18-10 overtime period to win its third consecutive Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) victory on Thursday defeating New England College by a 97-89 final. 

Rapid Recap:

• The Pilgrims go off to a fast start scoring the first five points of the game, but back-to-back buckets including a dunk by junior Nick Grant (Houston, Texas) kick started a 12-2 run for the visitors to take the lead. First year Sean Peterson (Chester, N.H.) continued the offense for Colby-Sawyer lacing a shot from behind the arc to start another 7-0 run to own a 19-9 lead halfway through the first half. Another pair of buckets by Peterson softened a Pilgrim run to keep the Chargers up by a 23-17 margin with 5:26 to play in the first. A thunderous alley-oop by junior Bullen Taban (Phoenix, Ariz.) gave Colby-Sawyer a jolt on energy leading to another 8-2 run capped off by a putback slam by Taban. The Pilgrims finished the quarter with a small 4-1 spurt to trail 34-25 headed into the break. 
• Junior Mike Joanou (Burbank, Calif.) netted back-to-back jumper to extend the lead to 42-29 in the second half. Junior Owen Morse (Shelburne Falls, Mass.) added a key stretch with a three-pointer, steal and then finish to push the lead to a game-high 16 points with 15:45 to play. The next six minutes belonged to the Pilgrims going on a 19-8 run to trim the deficit to just five points with 9:31 to play in the second half. Key threes by Joanou and junior Cha'Mar Martin (Columbia, S.C.) lifted the Chargers lead to 65-57 with 5:36 to play. New England College responded with a 10-5 run to cut the lead to just three points with 2:35 left in regulation. Martin and junior Chaz Cullum (Omaha, Neb.) each got clutch buckets to push the lead back to seven, but a huge run by the Pilgrims got the game to within three points with 12 seconds to play. Jayden McGrew forced overtime with a three with five seconds to play in regulation to force the extra period. 
• In overtime Joanou started the period with a turnaround bucket to start a 10-1 run highlighted by two key finishes by Cullum. The Pilgrims cut the lead to 92-86 with a minute to play, but Martin finished a tough and-one to to close things out as the Chargers won by a 97-89 final. 

Post Game Press:
"Today was a good win for us", said junior Nick Grant (Houston, Texas). "It was important for us to stay locked in the whole game. Conference play is important for us to close out and pull off a win together and that's exactly what we did today. We had trust in each other to get it done."

Inside the Numbers:

• Grant netted a career-high 17 points (6-15 FG, 0-4 3PT, 5-8 FT) to go with five rebounds, three assists and three steals. Cullum filled the stat sheet with 18 points (5-13 FG, 8-13 FT), seven boards, five steals, and four assists. Taban tallied 15 points (5-8 FG, 0-1 3PT, 5-8 FT), 10 rebounds and two steals, while Martin added 15 points (4-11 FG, 1-2 3PT, 6-8 FT) and a steal in his return to action. 
• McGrew led the Pilgrims with 22 points (9-14 FG, 1-2 3PT, 3-4 FT), six assists, five rebounds and two steals. Michael Hills added 15 points (5-10 FG, 2-3 3PT, 3-3 FT), five rebounds and two assists. 
• The Chargers held a 14-4 fast break point advantage over the Pilgrims, while also owning a 24-12 points off turnovers margin.

Up Next: 
The Chargers will stay on the road to keep their win streak going against Johnson & Wales on Saturday with a 3:00 PM tip.

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