BRONXVILLE, N.Y.  -  The Coast Guard Academy men's basketball team picked up a win in non-conference action tonight, defeating the Sarah Lawrence Gryphons on the road by a score of 77-61. Coast Guard shot 28-51 (54.9%) overall and 12-24 (50.0%) on three-pointers, the team's second-best performance in each mark after their win vs. Mitchell College earlier this season on November 26th.

The Bears pick up their second win in as many games to improve to 5-3, while Sarah Lawrence loses their second-straight as they move to 4-5. The Gryphons will look to get back in the win column this upcoming Saturday, December 14th, as they open up their Skyline Conference schedule at Mount Saint Mary College (1-7).

Sarah Lawrence would take a 4-0 lead before junior forward Luke Farrell (Ortley, N.J.) put Coast Guard on the board with a mid-range jumper. The Bears had difficulties getting their offense going during the first few minutes, leading to the visitors taking a time out to talk things over with 16:25 on the clock following a corner three by senior guard Declan Rooney (Seattle, Wash.).

The hosts would eventually get out to a 12-point, 19-7 lead in the minutes following the timeout, but Coast Guard began to heat up not long after. They got it back within six points after junior guard Trevor Parks (Oldsmar, Fla.) drained a three to make it 22-16, and the Gryphons would be unable to get ahead by more than that going forward. Another three by Parks with 5:10 to play made it a 28-27 game in the hosts' favor, but Farrell would turn it around on the Bears' next possession with a three of his own to give his team their first lead of the game.

Another one from beyond the arc by Parks later on with 3:40 on the clock forced the Gryphons to take a timeout down five. Following the timeout, the Bears would take their lead as far as nine points before Sarah Lawrence got it back down to five just before halftime. The visitors went into the break with a 38-33 lead. Parks' hot hand gave him 11 points, a game-high up to that point, on a perfect 4-4 from the field and 3-3 from long range.

The Gryphons' leading scorer at half was junior guard Braden Burman (San Diego, Calif.), who was accounting for nine points on an also perfect 3-3 from the field with one shot from three. Coast Guard was doing a great job of pressuring Sarah Lawrence's go-to man, junior guard Eamon Kelly (New Orleans, La.), who had contributed just six points on 2-6 from the field, with both made shots being from three.

Both teams would play on to start the second half as they traded bucket after bucket. The hosts would briefly take the lead back with 16:16 on the clock following a lay-up by Burman to make it 42-41, but the Bears would take it right back on their next possession after junior guard Elijah Parent (Bristol, Conn.) made a lay-up of his own. The visitors would not relinquish the lead from that point on, going on an 18-7 run highlighted by four three-pointers, three of which came from the hand of senior guard Ben Yagey (Highlands Ranch, Colo.), to take a 61-49 lead with 9:09 left to play.

Coast Guard's lead wouldn't fall below ten for the remainder of the game. Yagey finished with the team lead in scoring, pouring in 17 points while going 6-10 from the field and 4-7 on threes. Rooney and Farrell contributed 14 points each, with the senior adding two steals and the junior adding a block and grabbing nine rebounds. Parks was unable to carry his sparkplug first half performance into the second, but he finished the game perfect after being unable to get another shot off.

Burman finished the night with 16 points on 6-10 overall and 1-3 on three-pointers, while Kelly finished with 11 on 4-10 and 2-7 from distance. Both players tallied three steals each during the game. Sarah Lawrence hit a shooting slump on three-pointers in the second half, going just 1-11 (9.1%) from the arc.

The Bears will get to escape the frigid New England winter thanks to their next game on Friday, December 20th, which takes them down to Miami Gardens, Florida, to face Ursinus College in their opener at the annual Cruzin' Classic basketball showcase. The game will be the first-ever match-up between the two programs.