CCNY Runs to 78-52 Win Against MBB

NEW LONDON, Conn. - The Mitchell College men's basketball team dropped a 78-52 decision to the City College of New York on Tuesday night at the Yarnall Athletic Center.

Xavier Gonzalez netted a game-high 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the field to lead CCNY (2-6 overall). Ben Washington added 10 points while Matas Rascius finished with seven points and a game-high 14 rebounds in the winning cause. Senior Mike DePaolo led the Mariners with 14 points and was 3-of-5 from beyond the three-point arc.

A free throw and putback by senior Eric Murray gave the Mariners the first three points of the game and their only lead. The Beavers answered with buckets by Gonzalez and Tom Hart to take the lead and never looked back. CCNY built the margin to double digits midway through the half and took its biggest lead, 44-21, into the locker room at the intermission. Gonzalez had 14 points in the stanza to pace the Beavers, who shot 53 percent from the floor.

The lead ballooned to 30 points in the opening minutes of the second half. The Mariners battled back midway through the stanza, scoring 10 straight points to cut the deficit to 60-38 with 11:49 to go. That would be as close as Mitchell (1-6 overall) would get, however, as CCNY pumped the lead to as many as 34 in the final minutes.

The Beavers shot 43 percent for the contest and went 15-of-20 from the charity stripe. CCNY also held a commanding 55-35 advantage on the backboards and pulled down 22 offensive rebounds. Mitchell shot just 28 percent from the floor.

Murray finished with nine points, six rebounds and three steals in the defeat. Sophomore Jeff Gomez tied a career high with eight points and added five rebounds and a block.

Mitchell opens conference play on Saturday, December 12 at Southern Vermont College at 3 p.m.