Mitchell MBB Hands Daniel Webster First Loss

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College men's basketball team handed Daniel Webster College its first loss of the season by an 82-73 final on Tuesday night in New England Collegiate Conference action at the Yarnall Athletic Center.

Junior Parris Hill made a huge impact in his Mitchell debut, recording game highs of 27 points and 12 rebounds as the Mariners (6-3 overall, 3-0 NECC) won their fourth straight contest. Senior Joshua Ford played limited minutes in the second half due to foul trouble but finished with 16 points and eight rebounds, and sophomore Frank Martin added 14 points on 4-for-5 shooting from beyond the arc.

Daniel Webster (9-1 overall, 2-1 NECC) fought back from an 11-point halftime deficit and clawed until the end. Daris Cosby led four Eagles in double digits with 19 points and pulled down seven rebounds. Kevin Perez finished with 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists while Khial Watson and Aiden Collins came off the bench to contribute 13 and 11 points, respectively.

The nine straight wins were the most ever by a Daniel Webster men's basketball team to start the season.

Mitchell led for most of the first half and opened up a 10-point margin with 11:34 remaining in the stanza. Daniel Webster answered with nine straight points over a three minute span and cut the deficit to 18-17 on a three-pointer by Watson. The Eagles later took a 24-23 lead on a trey by Perez with 5:54 to go, but the Mariners closed strong by scoring 14 of the final 16 points of the half. Hill had 11 points at the break while Ford had 10 as the Mariners led 39-28.

Mitchell increased the lead to 13 early in the second half before Ford worked his way into foul trouble. He picked up three fouls in the opening 3:25 of the half and took a seat on the bench after fouling Cosby on a made lay-up. Cosby completed the three-point play to cut the Mitchell lead to 45-35 with 16:35 remaining.

The Eagles took advantage as the Mitchell defense struggled to adjust without Ford manning the middle. Daniel Webster went on a 13-4 run over the next 2:44 and cut the lead to 49-48 on a three-pointer by Cosby. Collins also had five points during the stretch as the Eagles looked poised to pull in front.

The Mariners called time out to regroup, and Martin later followed with a big three-pointer to keep the home team in front. The shot seemed to wake up his teammates, as Mitchell scored eight of the next 11 points to bring the lead back to nine.

The Mariners never let the lead slip away while Ford was on the bench, and he came back in to play the final 7:39. However, it was Hill who kept Mitchell going with 16 points and eight boards in the second half.

Daniel Webster made one final push and tied the game on another three-pointer by Cosby, making the score 66-66 with 4:26 remaining. Martin then buried his biggest trey of the night, putting the Mariners in front for good. He added a pair of free throws with 3:11 to go, and senior Alex Del Rio followed with a three from the corner to put Mitchell up 74-66 with 2:46 to play.

Freshman Damion Hewitt played big minutes off the bench for the Mariners in the second half. He scored seven points and grabbed five rebounds in 13 minutes and hit a key basket with 1:10 to go to make it a two-possession game.

The Mariners shot 46 percent as a team and held a 42-36 advantage in rebounding. Hill shot 12-for-18 from the floor and pulled down seven rebounds on the offensive glass. He also contributed two blocks on the defensive end. Del Rio handed out five assists while Ford added four.

The Eagles shot 45 percent from the floor but turned the ball over 19 times. Cosby went 8-for-13 from the field while Watson and Collins combined to shoot 9-for-13 off the bench.

Mitchell will next play at Wheelock College on Thursday, January 9 at 6 p.m. Daniel Webster returns to action at home against Elms College on Thursday at 7 p.m.