Mitchell, Mount Saint Vincent Advance to Tip-Off Finals

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The host Mariners and the College of Mount Saint Vincent advanced to the championship game of the 2010 Mitchell College Tip-Off Tournament with first-round victories on Friday night at the Yarnall Athletic Center.

The two teams will battle for the tournament championship on Saturday at 3 p.m. Mitchell notched its first win of the season by a 94-27 final over Green Mountain College. Mount Saint Vincent defeated Mount Ida College in the night's other game by a 107-79 margin. Green Mountain and Mount Ida will meet in Saturday's consolation game at 1 p.m.

Game 1 – Mitchell 94, Green Mountain 27

Mitchell (1-2 overall) shot a season-high 56 percent from the floor and coasted to its largest margin of victory since joining the Division III ranks against an undermanned Green Mountain squad. A total of 15 players found the scoring column for the Mariners led by freshman Tim Quinn with 11 points and junior Mercury Fiske with 10.

Green Mountain, which had only five players suit up for action, was led by 10 points from senior Matt Tarricone. Freshman Daniel Fifield and senior Aaron Ashton added eight and seven points, respectively.

The Mariners scored the first 11 points of the contest and raced out to a 29-3 before the Eagles (0-1 overall) knocked down their second field goal. Mitchell took a 49-7 lead into the locker room at the half after shooting 49 percent from the floor and forcing 16 turnovers in the stanza.

Mitchell held a 50-14 advantage in rebounds and turned the ball over only five times. Senior Jenel Russell grabbed a game-high seven rebounds and finished with nine points.

Game 2 – Mount Saint Vincent 107, Mount Ida 79

Junior Omonya Onwe netted a game-high 24 points to pace four players in double figures for Mount Saint Vincent (2-0 overall). Junior Cody Gauvard chipped in with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting while sophomores Shaquille Cunningham and George Naldjieff contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively. Senior Alvin Pegues handed out a game-high nine assists to pace the Dolphins' offense.

Junior David Gibbs poured in 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting to lead the Mustangs (0-1 overall). Classmate Isiah Benjamin added 13 points and seven assists while junior Joe Cabral finished with 11 points and a game-high eight rebounds.

The Dolphins used a swarming defense to force 22 turnovers and get easy baskets in transition. Mount Saint Vincent held a 20-11 advantage in fast break points and also battled to a 66-42 edge in points in the paint.

With the score tied at 18-18 with 13:45 to play in the first half, the Dolphins took control behind a 19-4 run over the next 4:30. Five different players scored for Mount Saint Vincent during the stretch, led by eight points from Cunningham and five by Gauvard. Mount Ida got to within nine points at three different points in the closing minutes of the half but trailed 53-42 at intermission.

Mount Saint Vincent never let its lead dip below double digits in the second half and stretched the margin to as many as 31 points. The Dolphins eclipsed the century mark on a jumper by Eric Van Tine with 3:25 remaining.