MBB Wins NECC Opener vs. Daniel Webster

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College men's basketball team erased a four-point halftime deficit and held on for a 62-60 victory against Daniel Webster College on Tuesday night at the Yarnall Athletic Center in the New England Collegiate Conference opener for each school.

Sophomore Joshua Ford scored 14 points and pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds to pace the Mariners (3-4 overall, 1-0 NECC). He also added six assists, three steals and a block and made a number of big plays on the night. Seniors Paul Jefferson and Alex Vess chipped in with 12 and 11 points, respectively, as Mitchell won its first NECC game since 2010. 

Daniel Webster's John Hickson led all scorers with 19 points and was 4-for-9 from three-point range. Eric Suarez added a double-double with 15 points and 13 boards while Daris Cosby finished with 14 points and seven rebounds. The Eagles dropped to 1-6 overall and 0-1 in the NECC.

Vess and sophomore Alex Del Rio set the tone early for the Mariners. Vess was a force on the defensive glass while Del Rio piled up six of his game-high seven assists in the opening 10 minutes of the contest. The Mariners took their largest lead at 26-19 on a lay-up by freshman Michael Pellegrini with 9:53 to play, but the offense struggled for the remainder of the half.

The Eagles climbed back into the game and took a 30-29 lead on a jumper by Suarez with 3:59 to go in the half. Daniel Webster extended the lead to as many as five and clung to a 36-32 margin at the break. The Mariners shot just 2-for-10 to end the half but stayed in the game behind a solid effort from their bench, which outscored the Eagles 16-1 over the first 20 minutes.

Mitchell reclaimed the lead early in the second half on a four-point play by Jefferson and held it for the majority of the stanza. The Mariners took their biggest lead of the half at 59-54 with 4:48 to go on a layup by Ford, but the Eagles answered right back. Cosby drilled a three-pointer to cut the deficit to two, and on the following possession he was fouled on another long-range attempt. He drilled all three free throws to give Daniel Webster a 60-59 lead with 3:47 remaining.

Mitchell took the lead for good on a jumper by Vess with 2:42 to play and held on in the late stages. Ford added a free throw with 20 ticks left to make it a two-point game and had a chance to ice it with nine seconds left, but he missed the front end of one-and-one. The Eagles pulled down the rebound and had a chance to win at the buzzer, but a three-pointer by Keith Speed was off the mark.

Mitchell will next play at Southern Vermont College on Saturday, December 10 at 3 p.m.