Lesley Holds Off MBB in Second Half

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College men's basketball team put up a strong fight but could not overcome the relentless attack of Lesley University in an 84-77 loss on Tuesday night at the Yarnall Athletic Center.

Lesley (6-17 overall, 3-10 NECC) led the entire second half and held off every Mitchell attempt to take over the lead. John Sanchez scored 13 of his game-high 21 points in the second half and finished with eight assists. He shot 17-for-19 from the free throw line in the contest as the Lynx outscored the Mariners 23-9 at the charity stripe.

Four players scored in double figures for Mitchell (1-21 overall, 0-13 NECC), led by 18 points from junior Julio Contreras. The Mariners shot 45 percent from the floor but were outrebounded by a 42-27 margin.

The score was tight for the first 12 minutes of the contest before Lesley reeled off 12 straight points to take control. Harold Smith scored six points during the stretch, and Grant Cobb capped the run with a lay-up to put the Lynx up 35-24 with 4:44 to play in the half.

Mitchell narrowed the margin to four in the final seconds of the stanza on a three-pointer by freshman Alex Del Rio, but Sanchez drew a foul with one second remaining and drained both freebies to give Lesley a 39-33 lead at the break. Sanchez finished with eight points in the half while Thornton Paul added nine.

Senior Tyler Blier gave Mitchell a quick boost to start the second half, scoring on a pair of moves in the paint in the opening minute. The Mariners pulled within one at 44-43 on a lay-in by junior Paul Jefferson, but Cobb answered right back with a jumper to keep the Lynx in front.

Mitchell cut the deficit to two points or less a total of eight times in the second half but never took a lead. On five occasions the Lynx made a basket on their next possession, and in the three other instances the Mariners drew iron on shots that would have given them the lead.

A pair of free throws by Blier cut the margin to 63-61 with 6:38 remaining, but Lesley used a 10-0 run over the next four minutes to put the game away. The Lynx scored on five straight possessions and led 73-61 with 2:34 to go following a lay-up by Jesus Trejo, who netted six points during the span. Lesley closed out the contest by going 10-for-11 from the foul line in the final 1:13.

Four players scored in double figures for the Lynx. Paul netted 18 points and added five rebounds while Trejo had 13 points and seven boards. Smith shot 6-for-10 from the field and finished with 12 points and Cobb led all players with 12 rebounds.

Del Rio had 11 points for the Mariners while Blier and freshman Chris Thomas added 10 points each. Senior Patrick Nielsen finished with two points and a rebound in 12 minutes in the final home game of his career. Both Nielsen and Blier were honored prior to the game in a special Senior Night ceremony.

Mitchell will close out the regular season at Becker College on Saturday, February 19 at 3 p.m.