Danbury, CT- The Men's Basketball team headed to Western Connecticut State University this weekend to participate in the Colonial Classic Tournament along with U.S Coast Guard Academy and Baruch College. The host, the WCSU Colonials, hosted the Falcons this afternoon in the first game of the tournament, with the home team coming up with the 78-69 victory. With the loss the Falcons drop to 2-2, while the Colonials improve to 2-0 in the young season.
The first half remained close through the first ten minutes of play with WCSU holding a 17-12 lead. But a 19-0 run was a huge factor in the contest as the home team was able to pull ahead 36-12 with less than two minutes left before the break. The Falcons finished the half outscoring the Colonials 5-2, and would head into halftime trailing 38-17. Coming out of the break, the Falcons responded with a 10-2 run of their own, capped by an emphatic dunk from senior Jhalen Lumpkins (Sacramento, CA) to bring the score to 40-27 with 15:31 left on the clock. The Colonials looked to close the door over the next three minutes, scoring the games next nine points, and increasing their lead to 24 with 8:08 left to play. However the Falcons would not go quietly; with WCSU up 70-50 with 3:25 remaining, the Falcons went on a 19-4 run over the next two minutes to get within five points at 74-69, hitting five straight three pointers, including a pair from junior Kyle Williams (Fairfield, CA). But that would be the closest the Falcons would get, as the comeback fell short falling 78-69.
Lumpkins led all scorers, collecting a season-high 26 points while adding three boards and four steals. Williams and Jason Augliera (Discovery Bay, CA) also finished in double figures, each tallying 11 points a piece and combining for nine assists. The Colonials were led by Fenton Bradley who scored 19 points, while Tracy Shea and Legend Johnson also contributed in double figures with 15 and 10 points respectively. The offense shot well for the Falcons, shooting 50% from the floor, but it was rebounding that was factor in the win, as the home team out-rebounded the Falcons 42-23 (17-4 offensive rebounds).
The Falcons will face off against the Baruch Bearcats on Sunday afternoon at 2pm, who defeated the USCGA 65-58 in the other matchup of the Colonial Classic.