Quick Start Leads MBB to Victory at Elms

CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Mitchell College men's basketball team picked up an 86-72 victory at Elms College on Saturday afternoon in a New England Collegiate Conference showdown at Picknelly Arena.

Four starters scored in double figures for the Mariners (7-9 overall, 5-4 NECC) led by 22 points from Parris Hill. Donavan McClean added 20 points while Devonta Mosley chipped in with 14 and Frank Martin posted 11. Joshua Ford led the way on the glass for Mitchell with 11 rebounds while Hill contributed nine.

Kenny Lockett paced Elms (8-9 overall, 7-2 NECC) with 20 points and pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds. Tim Putnam added 17 points to round out the Blazers in double digits.

Mitchell never trailed in the game after jumping out to a 9-4 lead in the opening 2:23. The Mariners then added to the margin with 11 straight points as the Blazers went ice cold on the offensive end. A jump shot by Ford capped the stretch and made it 20-4 with 12:49 remaining in the half. Elms went 0-for-6 from the floor and committed three turnovers as the Mariners built up the lead.

Mitchell closed the half with four three-pointers over the final 4:01, including a pair from Josh Maynard. Hill contributed a trey in the final minute and then punctuated the stanza with a slam dunk as the Mariners took a 44-27 lead into the locker room at the break. Hill led all scorers at intermission with 11 points while Mosley contributed 10.

The Mariners took their largest lead of the contest on a three-pointer by Martin with 13:08 to go that pushed the lead to 59-37. Elms later trimmed the deficit to nine following a three ball from Lockett with 2:31 to play, but McClean immediately answered with a trey of his own to pump the lead back to double digits.

Lockett was scoreless in the first half but heated up to score all 20 of his points in the final stanza. McClean scored 13 of his 20 points in the second half for the Mariners.

Mitchell will next host Connecticut College on Tuesday, February 3 at 5:30 p.m.