MADISON, N.J. - Senior guard
Riley Collins scored a game-high 31 points, but Hamilton College pulled away in the second half and defeated the Rangers 88-80 in the championship game of the 36th Larry Horner C'40 Rose City Classic Sunday afternoon in Baldwin Gymnasium.
Collins also posted 28 points in the team's first-round win over Old Westbury and was named to the All-Tournament Team. His 59 points tied his own tournament record set last season.
Freshman forward
Howard McBurnie, Jr. added 13 points and seven rebounds for the Rangers (2-1), who lost a regular-season game in Baldwin Gym for the first time since Feb. 17, 2018.
Tournament MVP Kena Gilmour posted 24 points, seven rebounds, and five assists for the Continentals (2-0), a team that reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division III Tournament last season. Also earning a spot on the All-Tournament Team were Hamilton's Patrick Mogan, College of New Jersey's Travis Jocelyn, and Old Westbury's Cameron Winston. TCNJ defeated Old Westbury 84-69 in the consolation game.
Collins shot 13-for-22, and he also posted five rebounds, three assists, and three steals. He was hot from the start, scoring 14 points in the opening 6:42 to put the Rangers up 20-16 after they trailed by seven points early. The rest of the half was a back-and-forth affair in which neither side led by more than four, and the Rangers carried a 44-42 lead into the locker room. Collins led all players with 21 points at the break.
The Continentals scored the first five points of the second half and would not trail the rest of the way. A 14-0 Hamilton run gave the visitors a 17-point advantage with 15:24 remaining, but the Rangers refused to go away. Drew pulled to within single digits on a free throw from junior guard
Dylan Musial with 11:46 remaining before a 3-pointer by Collins made it 74-68 with 9:04 showing. However, Hamilton answered with a 6-1 spurt and would carry a double-digit lead nearly the rest of the game.
The Rangers return home on Wednesday, when they take on the College of Saint Elizabeth in a non-conference tilt starting at 7 p.m.
