CASTINE – Both Colby College and Maine Maritime Academy were looking for a spark and some much-needed momentum heading into the exclusively conference-play portion of their schedules, and Monday night’s men’s basketball game at Margaret Chase Smith Gymnasium offered a chance for both.

The visiting White Mules of Waterville used solid ball movement, pesky, man-to-man defense, and the inside-out combo of Drew Cohen and Nick Farrell to seize momentum early and keep it all the way to the finish for a 77-52 victory.

“The whole game, they dictated to us. We were unable to go where we wanted to go offensively,” said MMA coach Chris Murphy. “We got caught a whole lot of times defensively helping way too far off and giving them open perimeter shots.”

Colby hit 8 of 18 from 3-point range.

Cohen finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds and Farrell tallied 21 points to go with seven assists and four boards as the Mules improved to 6-7 overall.

“We had to be more patient and more physical in the second half,” said Farrell, who had 12 points after halftime. “Defensively, we just tried to be really active and get after it because it makes our offense so much easier.”

Rangeley native Neil Stewart was MMA’s lone double-digit scorer (13) and rebounder (10) as his 3-6 Mariners were outrebounded 41-36 – despite having a 27-21 edge at halftime – and outshot 45.9 percent to 33.3 from the field. MMA also committed 19 turnovers to Colby’s 11.

“I was really pleased with the way we defended against a pretty athletic team,” said Colby coach Dick Whitmore. “Going into conference play Friday night, it’s really key for us that our defense plays well. We’ve come a long way.”

Colby took charge late in the first half with a 9-2 run in the final four minutes that put it up 32-18 at the half. The Mules scored 13 of the first 15 points scored in the second half to put themselves up 45-20 with 16 minutes to play.

Cohen, a 6-foot-6 junior center, came alive to fuel the run to start the second half. He had four baskets and two foul shots in the game-defining run after scoring six points in the first half.

“I just tried to be patient on offense and let the game come to me,” Cohen said. “Everything was the same, but we were moving the ball better in the second half.”

Mark Gaudet, a sophomore guard from Bingham, had a well-rounded effort for Colby with 14 points, four steals, three assists, and two rebounds.

Mariners center Brandon Hall, a 6-8 sophomore from Dover-Foxcroft, scored seven of his nine points in the second half and also grabbed eight boards. He was the one matched up with Cohen.

“In the first half, I was stepping into him and trying to push him off, but he’s so long he could still get block the shot or rebound,” said the lefthanded Cohen. “So in the second half, I was kind of spinning away from him to create more space.”

Sophomore forward Preston Decker came off the Colby bench to contribute eight points and eight rebounds.

Monday’s game served as a game between coaches who know each other well. Murphy served five years as an assistant coach under Whitmore at Colby before coming to Castine 14 seasons ago.

WHITE MULES 77, MARINERS 52

Colby (6-7) Maine Maritime (3-6)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Cohen 9 15 4 4 22 Deabay 0 0 0

Cutrone 0 3 0 0 0 McCarley 0 0

Gaudet 3 7 5 5 14 Yeo 1 4 9

Simpson 1 3 0 0 3 Stewart 5 9 13

Lemmons 0 0 0 0 0 Dunlap 1 4 3

Dick 1 5 1 1 3 Manner 1 4 2 5

Feathrston 1 1 0 2 2 McCorrsn 2 4

Bandi 0 1 2 2 2 Haskell 0 5 1

Decker 4 10 0 0 8 Hall 4 7 9

Planeta 0 0 0 0 0 Oldham 3 5 8

Shers 1 3 0 0 2 Farrin 0 0 0

Farrell 8 13 1 2 21

Totals 28 61 13 16 77 Totals 17 51 12 22 52

Colby 32 77

MMA 18 52

3-pt. goals – Colby (8-18): Farrell 4-7, Gaudet 3-7, Simpson 1-1, Cohen 0-1, Dick 0-2; MMA (6-15): Stewart 3-3, Yeo 1-1, Dunlap 1-2, Manner 1-2, Haskell 0-3, McCorrison 0-4

Attendance: 97