Daniel Webster Pulls Away Late Against MBB

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College men's basketball team nearly picked up its first conference win on Saturday against Daniel Webster College, but fell 71-63 in a NECC showdown at the Yarnall Athletic Center.

The Mariners trailed the entire second half but rallied back to tie the game at 56-56 with 3:54 to go. Daniel Webster scored the next seven points and got three straight defensive stops, however, to secure the victory. Chris Voukides scored all seven points for the Eagles during the stretch and finished with 11 points in the contest.

Daris Cosby led four Eagles (10-9 overall, 4-5 NECC) in double figures with 16 points and eight rebounds. Keith Speed added 15 points while Eric Suarez contributed 12 points and seven boards.

Mitchell (1-19 overall, 0-11 NECC) was led by freshman Tim Quinn, who finished with a game-high 20 points and added six rebounds, four assists and two steals. Junior Paul Jefferson chipped in with 15 points while freshman Alex Del Rio had 11.

Daniel Webster led 29-22 at halftime after shooting 44 percent in the opening stanza and playing solid defense. The Mariners had only two players in the scoring column at the break, with Jefferson netting all 15 of his points on three-pointers in the opening frame. Mitchell shot just 29 percent from the floor in the half but hung in by shooting 6-for-19 from long range.

The Mariners scored on their first three possessions of the second half to cut the deficit to three. Junior Jeff Gomez provided the spark with six straight points in the paint to get Mitchell going.

Daniel Webster stayed in front thanks to a three-pointer by Speed and eventually got its lead back to eight with 11:06 to play. The margin began to dwindle as the clock wound down, and Mitchell made it a one-possession game on a trey by Del Rio with 8:46 remaining. The Mariners then had two open looks on their next possession to tie the game but missed on both.

The Eagles led 54-50 with 5:08 to go following a pair of Suarez free throws, but Quinn responded with a three to cut the deficit to one. Cosby answered back with a jumper on the ensuing possession, but Del Rio finally brought the Mariners all the way back with a three-pointer to tie the game at 54-54 with just under four minutes to play. All 11 of Del Rio's points came in the second half.

Voukides made several key plays down the stretch, beginning with a three-pointer from the corner to put Daniel Webster back on top. He then stripped Del Rio at midcourt and was fouled on a lay-up attempt. He sank both freebies to give the Eagles a 61-56 lead just 51 seconds after Mitchell had tied things up. He later hit another pair from the charity stripe to complete the 7-0 run.

Daniel Webster held a clear advantage from the free throw line, going 21-for-25 in the game. The Eagles were whistled for just eight fouls in the contest that resulted in only two Mitchell free throw attempts.

Mitchell will next play at Newbury College on Saturday, February 12 at 2 p.m.