Entering the NESCAC semifinal on Saturday, Feb. 25, the Continentals, seeded second in the tournament, were 17–8 on the season and 7–3 in the NESCAC. However, they were yet to face some of their toughest competition. The Tufts Jumbos, seeded fifth in the tournament, entered 19–6 on the season and 6–4 in the NESCAC. Last weekend, Hamilton defeated no. 7 Connecticut College, 64–59, and Tufts defeated no. 4 Middlebury, 89–80, in double overtime.

In the previous matchup from this year, the Jumbos won, 57–54, but the game came down to the last possession. This seemed to be the case again at the start of the game Saturday, with the teams trading scores for long stretches of the first half. The Continentals began to string together some great defensive possessions, but this was offset by a few missed passes and shots not falling on offense. They then managed to take their first lead of the game at 15–14, and they did not look back for the rest of the quarter. Hamilton continued to increase their lead, the largest being 11. They ended the first half up, 34–21, with Hank Morgan ’25 leading the team in both points (10) and rebounds (6) for the half. Tyler Anderson ’23 led Tufts at the half with 8 points and 2 rebounds. The Continentals ended the half shooting 40%, with the Jumbos shooting 31%.

Missed passes plagued Hamilton at the start of the second half just as they had in the first. Both teams struggled offensively, with no points being scored within the first 3 minutes and a number of offensive fouls and turnovers from both sides. Finally, Morgan opened the scoring with a huge three-pointer and Eric Anderson ’23 followed suit with another. Tufts answered with a score before calling timeout. Despite this, Hamilton went on a run, extending the lead to 23 points, and the lead would hover around 20 until the last minutes. Late in the second half, a few Continentals got into foul trouble, but the Hamilton bench stepped up in crunch time. Tufts put together a small comeback, reducing the lead to 11, but the Continentals roared back in the final minutes, winning the game, 71–48. Morgan led the team with 19 points and Patrick Mogan ’23 led the team in rebounds with 9.

The Continentals’ opponent in the NESCAC championship game was the Colby Mules. The Mules were hot off a 15-point win over tournament favorites and final four host, no. 1 Williams. The game began with missed shots from both teams until Mogan opened the scoring 2 minutes in. Similar to the semifinal, Hamilton began the day with some great defensee, but failed to capitalize on the offensive end. Some great energy from the Hamilton student section, though, allowed for the Continentals to get back in the game and take the lead, 8–7, before the first timeout 9 minutes in. This led to an exchange of buckets until Colby began to pull away with 13 minutes left. Hamilton called a timeout to stop the Mules’ momentum, losing, 15–21, with 6 remaining in the half. The lead came in main part due to Colby’s rebounding advantage in the first half. Colby extended this lead to 11 over the course of the period, dominating, 32–21, at halftime. Hamilton’s leading scorer was Conner Rood ’23, with 10 points and 2 rebounds, while Colby’s was Will King ’23, with 11 points on 5 of 6 shooting with 2 rebounds.

To begin the second half, Colby came out flying with an early three-pointer, Hamilton worked their way back, piecing together nice defensive efforts and a 7–0 run to narrow the gap to 7 in the fifth minute of the half. Colby held on for a while, maintaining an 8 point gap. But with some smart plays and fan encouragement, Hamilton completed their comeback in the eighth minute, moving in front, 39–38. Teja Singh ’25 gave the Continentals the spark they needed, leading a 15–2 Continentals run in the middle of the second half, stretching the lead to 45–40. Hamilton never looked back, at one point reaching a margin of 14 points. The game ended in a 71–59 Hamilton victory, giving the Continentals their first ever men’s basketball NESCAC championship. Rood led the Continentals, with 22 points and 5 rebounds, while Colby’s King finished with 22 points and 5 rebounds. The supporting cast of the Hamilton Continentals, along with the lively student section, gave the team the edge they needed to win the NESCAC tournament and automatic qualification for the NCAA tournament. With this victory, they made history — this is the first NESCAC title in program history. Hamilton continues their successful season on Friday at 3:30 against Montclair State in their first step toward a national championship.