Box Score

MILTON, Mass. -- Lambros Papalambros led four Curry College players in double figures with a game-high 26 points as the Colonels narrowly defeated the University of New England men's basketball team in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action Thursday evening (Jan. 10) at the Student Center Gym.

The Nor'easters trailed by as many as 17 (59-42) in the second half before rallying to make things interesting. During a little over six minutes in the middle portion of the frame, UNE reduced the deficit to just two (65-63) with a 21-6 spurt that included a combined 18 points from first-year Devin Thompson (Winthrop, Mass.), junior Charles Fenner III (Bronx, N.Y.), and first-year Jesse Dykstra (Douglas, Mass.).

Curry answered with the next eight points to go up 73-63 with 3:20 left, but six straight for Big Blue brought the margin back down to four (73-69) with 1:24 on the clock. Though the difference hit four points (76-72, 78-74) on two more occasions, UNE could not get any closer before the final buzzer. Papalambros and Carlos Ribeiro each knocked down a pair at the charity stripe in the last 33 seconds to secure the win.

Papalambros went 8-of-15 from the field and 8-of-11 from the free throw line to pace the Colonels, and added five assists. Sedale Jones notched 17 points to go with five rebounds and five assists, while Ribeiro chipped in with 14 points and five boards. Ted Amendola logged a double-double with 13 points and 13 caroms, helping the hosts to a 42-34 rebounding advantage.

On the night, Curry (8-4, 5-0 CCC) shot 52 percent (30 for 58) from the field and made just under half (5) of its 11 attempts from beyond the arc.

Fenner III and Thompson guided the Nor'easters (2-10, 1-4 CCC) with 23 points apiece, and the duo accounted for seven of the team's 10 treys and nine of its 10 free throws in the game. Senior Conor Draleau (Shirley, Mass.) chipped in with eight points and five rebounds off the UNE bench. Junior Joshua Butler (Nantucket, Mass.) led the squad with seven rebounds, and sophomore Jake Abel (Fairfield, Calif.), while collecting six boards, tallied a team-high five assists.

Big Blue converted just under 40 percent (27 for 69) of its field goal tries in the contest.

Curry came out firing in the first half, and built a 17-4 cushion after five minutes of play. Ribeiro -- who recorded 10 of his 14 points in the opening frame -- closed the fast start with five in-a-row.

The lead quickly disappeared, however, as Fenner III struck for seven points and Butler had all six of his in a run (16-4) that saw the Nor'easters take a 20-19 edge at the midway mark of the period.

A basket by Papalambros on the other end gave the Colonels a lead they would not relinquish, and the hosts out-scored their opponents by nine the rest of half to establish a 44-33 lead at intermission. Curry connected on 57.6 percent (19 for 33) of its shot in the stanza.

Both sides are back in action on their respective home courts on Saturday (3 p.m.) -- Curry faces Endicott College, and UNE is set to take on Nichols College.