AMHERST, Mass. – No. 9 Amherst College used a collegiate career-high 26-point effort from Jayde Dawson '18 to help lift the Purple & White to a hard-fought, 88-86 victory over Connecticut College in Saturday afternoon's NESCAC men's basketball game at LeFrak Gymnasium.

RECORDS
Conn. College (10-5, 2-2 NESCAC)
Amherst (13-1, 3-0 NESCAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Dawson scored a game-high and collegiate career-best 26 points on 8-of-12 shooting, and Amherst erased a seven-point Conn. College lead midway through the second half to help send the Purple & White to the thrilling victory. The teams played to six tie scores and 14 lead changes before Amherst was able to seal its two-point victory.
• The Purple & White shot 51.7% from the field and converted 13-of-25 (52%) from three-point range to help seal the win. The Camels shot 50% from the field, and 31.8% from beyond-the-arc in the losing effort. Conn. College edged the hosts, 39-33 in rebounds, and owned a 46-32 differential in points in the paint.
• Jeff Racy '17 was stellar from three-point range connecting on 5-of-7 from long distance en route to 19 points. Connor Green '16 added 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds, while Johnny McCarthy '18 netted 10 points. Dawson handed out six of Amherst's 11 assists, while McCarthy and David George '17 notched two blocks apiece.
• The Camels were led by stellar shooting from Tyler Rowe and Daniel Janel who each scored a team-best 18 points on a combined 17-of-31 shooting. Janel added a game-high 14 rebounds, while David Labossiere poured in 16 points on 7-of-12 efficiency from the floor. Off the bench, Lee Messier chipped in 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 3-of-6 from three-point land.

FIRST HALF HIGHLIGHTS

• In a back-and-forth first half that saw Amherst mount an early 9-4 lead highlighted by treys from Racy and Dawson, Conn. College battled back to take a 13-12 edge at the 14:52 mark following a triple by Zuri Pavlin.
• The Camels extended their lead to as many as six when Messier swished a three-pointer at the 9:34 mark to make it 25-19, but McCarthy struck back for the Purple & White to make it 25-22.
• With the score knotted at 45-45 following a strike from beyond-the-arc by Michael Riopel '18 with 1:10 to play, Bo McKinley powered in a layup, and Rowe delivered a bucket underneath as time expired to give Conn. College a 49-45 lead at halftime.
• Racy finished with 12 first half points as he knocked down four three-pointers, while three Camels tallied double figures in the first standa led by Messier (13), Janel (12), and Rowe (10).

SECOND HALF HIGHLIGHTS

• The second frame continued to feature back-and-forth play but Conn. College was able to stake a seven-point, 71-64 lead with 9:48 to play in regulation to give the Camels their largest cushion of the contest.
• A McCarthy trey, a Dawson layup, and two McCarthy free throws quickly erased the visitor's advantage and evened the game at 71-71 with 7:00 to play.
• A Labossiere three-pointer at the 5:33 mark tied the game at 74-74, but Conn. College could not regain the lead as Dawson answered with a three-pointer of his own to put Amherst back in front, and the Purple & White did not relinquish the lead despite a pair of free throws made by Messier with 15 seconds left to make the score 87-86.
• Following a Dawson conversion on the front end of two foul shots with 11 ticks on the clock, Amherst was able to fend off a late, one-handed Labossier attempt at netting the equalizer as time expired to seal the hard-fought victory.

UP NEXT

• Following its four-game home stand between Jan. 5 and Jan. 16, Amherst takes to the road for five straight games to close out the month of January beginning with a 7 p.m. non-league tilt at Wesleyan University Monday evening in Middletown, Conn.
• Conn. College returns to play when it hosts Framingham State University at 7 p.m. in New London, Conn. in non-conference action.