Waltham, Mass. — Collin Sawyer gets a warm and fuzzy feeling whenever he sinks a 3-pointer.

It never gets old for the former New London High School sharpshooter.

"I still get a thrill every time I see a three go in," Sawyer said Sunday.

Sawyer, a 6-foot-3 sophomore, has experienced more 3-point thrills than he can count during his basketball career that's taken him from Stonington High School to New London to Putnam Science Academy and now Brandeis University, a Division III program.

Just this season alone, Sawyer's converted 42 shots from beyond the arc, including at least two in 12 of the last 13 games. He made two of three attempts on the way to 14 points in an 87-79 victory over Carnegie Mellon on Sunday at Red Auerbach Arena. He went 6-for-8 from the field overall while foul trouble limited him to 22 minutes. The win ended a seven-game losing streak for the Judges (5-13).

His smooth shooting stroke has been years in the making. The summer before his sophomore season at New London, he spent hours on form and spot shooting with his New London teammate Seth Lake.

"That's when I really turned the corner and become a pretty good shooter," Sawyer said. "From that point on, I've just improved."

Sawyer is finding his groove after sitting out all but the first seven games last season due to a broken hand. He suffered the injury while playing pick-up basketball during Christmas Break last season.

"It was pretty foolish of me," Sawyer said. "But I was able to red-shirt the year and get it back. ... But it was definitely frustrating because I just started playing a lot more minutes for the team."

Sawyer took advantage of the time off, becoming a student of the game.

"A lot of kids don't use that time to get better, but he did," Brandeis coach Brian Meehan said. "He learned a lot from watching and he came every day and he would sit in my office and talk and watch film, so he made the best of a really difficult situation."

It took awhile for Sawyer to shake off the rust from the extended layoff. After a slow start, he gradually improved and eventually moved into the starting lineup where he's been the last six games. He has one game-winning shot to his credit, draining a 3-pointer as time expired to beat Bates College, 76-73, on Dec. 31.

During one blistering shooting stretch in the second half on Sunday, Sawyer buried five straight shots to help fuel a comeback. He started off by sinking a 15-footer and then knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner.

When crowded on the perimeter, Sawyer smartly dribbled by his defender and converted a contested layup. He finished off his hot streak by draining another medium-range jumper and a 3-pointer from the wing.

"I'm absolutely a rhythm shooter," Sawyer said. "Once I see the ball go in a couple of times, it becomes pretty automatic."

Sunday's performance helped raise his scoring average to 9.6 points per game, ranking him third on the team. He's shooting slightly better from 3-point land (41.2 percent) than overall (40.7) from the field.

"As the year has gone by, I've gotten used to the offense and my teammates find me," Sawyer said. "And I've gotten a lot more comfortable and my confidence has definitely increased a lot."

The next step for Sawyer is to develop the rest of his game. He's added about 20 pounds since his senior year at New London High.

"He's always been able to shoot the ball," Meehan said. "We're trying to get him to do a little bit more. ... Like every other freshman, we just want him to become a complete player. He's working on it. He's a great kid to coach. He never says a word. He just listens to you and tries his best to improve."

Meehan is a big reason why Sawyer chose Brandeis over Babson. Brandeis assistant coach Seth Tabb recruited Sawyer during his prep school year at Putnam Science.

"I felt wanted and I felt needed, and that was really important to me," Sawyer said. "Coach Meehan has been one of my best head coaches. He definitely cares a lot about us. I lived with him for a couple of weeks over the summer and not many coaches would let you do that."

It's been a good marriage for both parties.

"He's a really bright kid, so he was looking for a high academic school," Meehan said. "It worked out really well for all of us. I think it's a good spot for him and good for us. ... He's such a great kid."

g.keefe@theday.com