New London — The possibility of an upset grew stronger as the game progressed Friday night at Luce Field House.

But could Connecticut College really take down No. 7 Middlebury?

The Camels certainly believed and played that way until securing a 60-49 victory.

The score may surprise people around the New England Small College Athletic Conference, but not the Camels.

“We’re definitely not surprised,” said junior David Murray, who finished with team highs for points (17) and rebounds (10).

The fact that the Camels pulled it off says a lot about what coach Tim Sweeney has done with the program since being hired in 2019.

Under Sweeney’s guidance, the Camels have improved each season. At 14-9, they’ve posted the program’s most wins since going 17-8 in 2007-08. They’re 5-4 in the NESCAC and on track to qualify for the league tournament.

“I’ve seen a lot of growth,” Murray said. “Coach Sweeney really focuses on player development and just getting us better every day. He’s definitely done a great job turning this program around.”

Sweeney felt good about his team’s chance on Friday despite playing without injured point guard Cam Schainfeld.

“We lost a key player to injury, our point guard who just does so much for us,” Sweeney said. “He’s a good kid and we’re heartbroken for that. But we had a great week of practice. Our guys really put their heads together and they’re committed. We talk a lot about just trying to get better. And I think we got better this week.

“We didn’t know if that would allow us to beat Middlebury, so we focused on what we could control.”

Come game time, Conn College focused on playing sound, aggressive defense and fighting a bigger opponent on the boards. The Camels limited the Panthers (19-4, 7-3) to 27.7 percent shooting.

“We strive every day to be great with defense in practice,” Murray said. “That’s what kept us in the game.”

They also responded to every Middlebury charge after grabbing a 26-22 halftime edge.

When Middlebury rallied to take a 41-37 lead, Conn College gradually surged back in front for good. Andrew Hartel scored inside to give the Camels a 44-43 advantage.

Backed by a raucous crowd that roared its approval with every big basket and defensive stop, the Camels gradually extended the lead, riding a competitive heart and aggressive defense to the finish line.

“This is a really hard place to play,” Sweeney said “We get great crowds. When we get great crowds, it’s loud and very difficult to play here. We have a tremendous home court advantage. They’re a great team and we really battled on the glass which is where they’re incredibly good. We hung in there with that.

“ And we made just enough plays, so it was a fun college basketball game.”

The Camels received contributions for nine different players. Elias Espinosa, Caelin Peters and Hartel each finished with eight points and Jarron Flynn added seven points, four rebounds and five steals.

The Camels planned on soaking in the big victory only for the rest of the night. On Saturday, they start preparing to host Williams Sunday afternoon.

“I love this for our guys,” Sweeney said. “They deserve this. They’ve worked so hard. It’s really nice to get a win like that. But we talk about getting better. We’re going to enjoy this for a few hours and then we’re going to get back to work tomorrow because we have another nationally-ranked team coming to town.

“This is a great win for the program, but we’re hungry for more.”

g.keefe@theday.com