Newbury Burns MBB at the Buzzer

NEW LONDON, Conn. – Steve Rosemond hit a shot at the buzzer to propel the Newbury College men's basketball team to an 83-81 victory over Mitchell College in New England Collegiate Conference play on Saturday afternoon at the Yarnall Athletic Center.

With 6.3 seconds remaining in a tied game, Rosemond took the inbounds pass in his own backcourt and brought the ball up the right sideline. He then worked his way into the lane and, after being cut off by a defender, launched a fade-away jumper that swished through the hoop as the buzzer sounded. Rosemond finished with 23 points and was one of five Newbury players in double figures in the contest.

Mitchell (5-16 overall, 3-11 NECC) had tied the game on the previous possession after Newbury failed to build on a two-point lead from the foul line on a one-and-one opportunity. The Mariners came up the floor and chose not to call timeout, instead working the ball around the perimeter for either the tying or go-ahead points. Senior Enoch Contreras finally drove into the paint and dished off to classmate Alex Vess for a baseline jumper that tied the game at 81-81.

The finish capped an exciting second half that was close throughout. Each team held the lead four times over the final 20 minutes as neither side could land a knockout punch. Mitchell took its biggest lead at 61-54 with 12:35 to go following a lay-up by freshman Alex Pires, but Newbury (10-14 overall, 7-8 NECC) answered right back with seven straight points to tie things up. The Nighthawks later went up by five with 7:41 to play, but Mitchell fired back on consecutive possessions to cut the deficit to one. Neither team led by more than two points in the final 6:28.

In the first half, the Nighthawks seized control behind a 14-0 run that left them ahead 19-7 with 14:34 remaining. Rosemond scored 10 points during the stretch on his way to 14 by the intermission. The Mariners, however, responded by scoring 13 of the next 15 points to claw back into the contest. Mitchell eventually took the lead on a jumper by freshman Michael Pellegrini and later went up by five at 28-23 on a three-pointer by Pires.

Newbury led 45-42 at halftime thanks to an 18-7 edge in points off turnovers. Sophomore Joshua Ford paced Mitchell at the break with 14 points on 6-for-6 shooting.

All of Newbury's scoring came from five players. Kwame Thompson also finished with 23 points while Tim Young added 15. Eric Watson contributed 12 points off the bench while Jason Marshall netted all 10 of his points in the first half.

Ford, who hit his first nine shots in the contest, finished with a game-high 26 points on 12-for-17 shooting. He also grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season. Both Pires and Pellegrini chipped in with 10 points while Vess and seniors Paul Jefferson and Terrance Fisher each added eight.

Mitchell will next play at Lesley University on Tuesday, February 14 at 8 p.m.