Box Score
NEW LONDON, Conn. - The Bard College men's basketball team broke open a close game with a burst in the second half, then hung on down the stretch to defeat host Connecticut College in the Coaches vs. Cancer Tip-Off on Saturday night.

The Raptors will play Suffolk University in the tournament championship on Sunday afternoon at 4.

If you're wondering when Bard men's basketball last started a season 2-0 ... the answer is ... never. They'll get their shot on Sunday.

The first half saw nine lead changes and neither team with a lead bigger than five. The Raptors led, 30-29, at the break, in spite of the Camels' 22-9 rebounding edge. Even though Connecticut College shot 52 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes, Bard forced 12 turnovers and scored 16 points as a result.

Bard never trailed in the second half, gradually making the one-point halftime lead four, then seven, then 10 ... and it grew to 14 with 7:01 left in the game after a layup by freshman Pat Kelly.

The Camels began chipping away down the stretch. Three straight free throws from senior Matt Vadas (Spring Lake Heights, NJ) and three more from freshman Zuri Pavlin (New York, NY) cut the lead with six with 3:59 left in the game.

Another three-pointer from Fabean-Scotch made it 60-51, but the Camels put together a 7-1 run and it was 61-57 after a Pavlin layup with 35 seconds left.

Lamar Powell missed a jumper with 22 seconds to go in the game, and Pavlin scored again, making is a two-point contest with 11 seconds left. They fouled Powell on the inbounds, and he made one of two. Vadas' three-point attempt missed at the buzzer, and Bard was 1-0.

Powell led Bard with 18 points, four rebounds and four assists; Siondueh Burnette finished with 13 points and four rebounds, and Fabean-Scotch had 14 points (11 in the second half) and four assists. Kelly contributed four points, four rebounds and two blocked shots, and Zach Goodman made a pair of threes and collected three steals off the bench in his first college game.

Pavlin had 25 points and 15 rebounds for the Camels. Vadas, who entered his senior season with more than 1,200 career points, was held to 14 points on 3-for-16 shooting, including 1-for-10 from beyond the arc.