NEW LONDON, Conn. –
In a high octane battle of New London foes, Coast Guard came out victorious 109-99 over the Mariners of Mitchell College. For CGA, it is the most points they have scored in a game since scoring 113 points in 2008.
The loss drops the Mariners to 5-2, they will next host Purchase State on Wednesday December 4th at 6:00 PM.
The first half was a clean back and forth affair for the teams with five lead changes and neither team reaching the bonus. Midway through the half, Mitchell appeared on the verge of taking control, leading by as many as eight points but CGA fought back time after time, keeping the Mitchell lead within reach. With less than a minute to go in the half, Coast Guard took their first lead in over 15 minutes on a long three pointer from sophomore guard
Jordan Frazer(Columbia, SC).
After a high scoring first half, the two teams came out in the second with even more offensive prowess, combining for 119 points in the half. Despite Coast Guard leading for nearly the entirety of the second, Mitchell never let the Bears take off and run away with the game until the very end with CGA winning by 10.
Leading the offensive explosion for Coast Guard was senior guard
Declan Rooney(Seattle, WA) who set a new personal high in points. With the score at 94-90 in favor of CGA, Rooney went to line with 25 points and a chance to break his career high of 26. He buried both shots to set a new high and give the Bears a six point lead late. Rooney shot 75%(3-4) from beyond the arc and did not miss a free throw on the day.
Trailing just behind Rooney were
Ben Yagey(Highlands Ranch, CO),
Luke Farrell(Ortley, NJ), and
Jordan Frazer who had 19, 19, and 18 points respectively.
Elijah Parent(Bristol, CT) was the other Bear in double figures with 13 points. Rooney and Frazer tied for the team lead in rebounds with six a piece while Yagey and Rooney topped the team in assists with five.
As a team, Coast Guard was over 50% from three(10-19) and outstanding from the line at 89.3%(25-28) with many of those free throws coming late in crunch time to seal the victory.
The win for CGA improves the Bears to 3-2 on the year. After a break for Thanksgiving, they will host rival Merchant Marine on Wednesday December 4th at 7 PM with a chance to improve the Academy's standing in the 2024-25 Superintendent's Trophy competition.