MBB Hands Newbury First NECC Loss

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College men's basketball team held off a late push from Newbury College to post a 73-62 victory on Tuesday night in New England Collegiate Conference action at the Yarnall Athletic Center.

The Mariners (8-8 overall, 4-4 NECC) led by two at intermission but shot 67 percent in the second half to hand the Nighthawks (9-7 overall, 7-1 NECC) their first conference loss of the season. Mitchell junior Joshua Ford led all scorers with 18 points and added game highs of 16 rebounds and seven assists. Eric Watson paced Newbury with 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting.

Newbury led 9-7 in the early going before using a 7-1 run to take their biggest lead of the game at 16-8 with 12:06 to play. Mitchell battled right back, however, tying the score with eight straight points that included back-to-back three-pointers by sophomore Trace Lanson and junior Alex Del Rio.

Watson put the Nighthawks back up by three with a hoop and the foul with 8:45 to go, but the teams continued to jockey for the lead throughout the remainder of the half. The Mariners went ahead for good on a jumper by junior Anthony Epps with 3:13 remaining and later took a 35-33 lead into the break following a jumper by Ford that beat the halftime buzzer.

Mitchell controlled the tempo in the first half and held Newbury to only 20 field goal attempts. The Nighthawks shot 55 percent in the stanza but also committed 11 turnovers. The Mariners shot just 33 percent but got up 40 shots and turned the ball over only four times. The first half featured four ties and 10 lead changes.

Steve Rosemond opened the second half scoring with a three-pointer to put Newbury back in front, but it would be the only time the Nighthawks would hold the lead in the final 20 minutes. Mitchell vaulted back in front behind a three from sophomore Alex Pires and never trailed again.

The Mariners used a 12-2 run over a 3:10 stretch to open up a double-digit lead. Sophomore Alberto Durogene had a pair of buckets during the spurt while Lanson added two three-pointers, the final one coming off an assist from Ford in which he saved a long outlet pass from going out of bounds. Ford found Lanson in the corner for an open three that gave Mitchell a 56-45 lead with 11:32 remaining in the contest.

Mitchell led by as many as 15 points and held a 64-49 advantage with under five minutes to go before Newbury stormed back. Milciades Carrasco came off the bench and hit three treys to spark a 13-2 run over a 2:45 span. Watson and Peterson Bernard also had buckets during the stretch as the Nighthawks roared back to within four at 66-62.

Pires stopped the bleeding with his third three-pointer of the night to put the Mariners back up by seven with 1:47 to play. Ford and Epps added baskets in the final minute to provide the final margin, and the Mariners finished with four players in double figures for the night.

Ford, who struggled offensively in the first half, scored 12 points on 6-for-7 shooting in the second half. Lanson shot 4-for-6 from three and finished with 13 points while Epps and Pires had 11 and 10, respectively. Durogene netted eight points off the bench and provided solid post defense with three steals and two blocks.

Rosemond also finished in double figures for the Nighthawks with 10 points while Carrasco added nine. Bernard chipped in with eight points, eight rebounds, three steals and three blocks. Anthony Bonelli led Newbury on the glass with 10 boards and also contributed five points.

Mitchell will next host Regis College on Saturday, January 26 at 3 p.m.