MBB Picks Up First Win at Eastern Nazarene

QUINCY, Mass. - The Mitchell College men's basketball team picked up its first victory of the season on Friday night in the first round of the ENC Classic Tournament. The Mariners defeated host Eastern Nazarene College by an 82-63 final at the Lahue PE Center.

Mitchell (1-4 overall) will advance to Saturday's championship game against Mt. Ida College, which scored an 81-71 victory over New England College. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.

Mitchell finished with four players in double figures against the Lions. Junior Tyler Blier led the Mariners with a career-high 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor. Senior Eric Murray finished with 15 points and five rebounds while classmate Mike DePaolo and junior Drew Norris chipped in with 14 points apiece.

The Mariners scored the game's first four points and never trailed. The lead quickly ballooned to 15 behind a 14-1 run during which five different players scored for Mitchell. Norris drilled a three-pointer to cap the stretch and gave the Mariners an 18-3 lead with 12:39 remaining in the first half.

Mitchell led by as many as 23 points in the first half, though a surge by the Lions cut the margin to 40-28 at intermission. Eastern Nazarene trimmed the deficit to single digits in the second stanza but never got closer than seven points. The Mariners pumped the lead back to double digits on another jumper by Norris and never looked back, coasting to a comfortable 19-point victory.

The Mariners shot a season-high 56 percent for the contest and went 5-for-11 from beyond the arc. Mitchell also controlled the glass by a 43-27 margin. Norris led the rebounding charge with a game-high nine boards, one of four Mitchell players with five or more rebounds.

Michael McCoy led Eastern Nazarene (0-7 overall) with 17 points. The Lions shot 42 percent from the floor but just 24 percent from three and 38 percent from the charity stripe.