Babson College claimed the 2011 Courtyard by Marriot Tip-Off Championship with a 72-52 victory over Roger Williams University Sunday afternoon. Fisher College, who fell 52-44 to Roger Williams in the tournament's opening game, was able to bounce back with a 70-61 win over Connecticut College in Sunday's consolation game.
In Sunday's contest, Fisher was led by All-Tournament Team selection Dennis Norford (New Haven, CT) with 32 points, 12 rebounds, and three steals. Zachary Campbell (Cape Coral, FL) added nine points, and seven assists, while Elijah Chisholm (East Boston, MA) had eight points and two steals.
Norford's 32 points were a career high for the senior who is averaging 19.7 points per game through the first six contests of the season. The 115 points scored this season has Norford sitting at 985 career points, just 15 shy of the 1,000 point mark.
Connecticut College's Jethro Anilus (Stamford, CT) led the Camels with 13 points of the bench, earning all-tournament honors. Matt Vadas (Spring Lake Heights, N.J.) had nine points and a pair of assists, while Bryan Gross (Great Falls, VA) and Boris Jeremic (Rijeka, Croatia) each added seven points and four rebounds.
Fisher jumped out a quick 9-0 lead, while the Camels did not get on the board until almost six minutes into the game. Connecticut College preserved and eventually took a 14-13 lead on a three-point play by Brian Mahoney (Quincy, MA). Conn. College led by as many as eight, 26-18, until the Falcons mount a comeback of their own. Sam Nwadike (Houston, MA) gave Fisher the lead back on a pair of free throws with just over two minutes to play in the half, 28-26.
In the second half, the game got away from Connecticut College early on as Fisher turned a 31-30 halftime lead into at 45-32 advantage over the opening five minutes. Three-point shooting helped keep the Camels in the game, as they went 5-11 from downtown in the half. Connecticut pulled within two with 5:16 to play (51-53) but could not regain the lead.
Sunday's victory marked the 100th in Coach Dave Lindberg's career. In his 6th season as Head Coach of the Falcons, Lindberg has a career mark of 100-80. Since 2001, Fisher College has won five Sunrise Conference championships. This season the Falcons are competing in the American Mideast Conference for the first time.
With the victory, Fisher improves to 2-4 on the season. They will return to action Tuesday, November 22 when they travel the Westfield State to take on the Owls.