New London - Basketball coaches who play freshmen, even if they grasp the concept of delayed gratification, may turn to decaf, Valium or even yoga to combat the anxiety. All you know about them … is that you never know.

And then there's Tom Satran, the 13-year coach at Connecticut College, who, go figure, is enjoying this season with so many players short on experience.

Satran, who played six first-year players Sunday, watched most of them contribute significantly to the Camels' 74-63 win at Coast Guard in the annual Route 32/Mr. G's Bowl game.

"We were really cautious about making sure they deserve (playing time) and not just giving it to them," Satran said. "The guys who are playing are playing because they deserve it.

"This is the most talent we've had in a while," he said. "I'm enjoying them. I don't know if they're ready for the league yet, but this group can be very good at some point."

Keyword from last sentence: group. Satran recruited many of them as a package deal. Five of his freshmen - Lee Messier, Isaiah Robinson, Aaron Swenson, Sean McNally and Joey O'Connell - played on the Massachusetts-based Middlesex Magic Amateur Athletic Union team, which has produced several college players, including Notre Dame's Pat Connaughton.

"We learned how to play well together and we were all looking at NESCAC schools," freshman Messier said. "We all decided to come here together. We have other talented freshmen, too. We are really excited about the next four years."

Messier led the Camels with 27 points on 9-for-14 shooting. Sophomore Zuri Pavlin had 17 points and 12 rebounds. Colin Pascoe had 13 and went 6-for-6 from the free throw line.

Conn (7-4) trailed 48-44 with 12:05 left before blitzing Coast Guard with a 17-2 run, holding the Bears scoreless for more than six minutes.

"We just went zone," Satran said.

"They made a good adjustment going zone and we bogged down against it," Coast Guard coach Kevin Jaskiewicz said. "If you look at our numbers, it's a good move to make against us. Tom's a good coach and they're a good program."

Kevin Alvarez led the Bears (4-7) with 18 points. Eli Sponseller had 16. Coast Guard, which plays several freshmen as well, committed 18 turnovers, most in the second half.

"It's exciting when you play freshmen because you never know what you're going to get," Jaskiewicz said. "Tom's got some good young players. Our young guys did a great job today, too."

Former New London High School guard Doug Henton, who has enrolled at Conn for the second semester, made his season debut. Henton played six minutes and had an assist.

"Doug's great," Satran said. "Love him."

m.dimauro@theday.com

Twitter: @BCgenius