Fast Start Pushes MBB Past Newbury

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College men's basketball team picked up its fourth straight win by a 92-74 final over Newbury College on Thursday night in New England Collegiate Conference action at the Yarnall Athletic Center.

The Mariners (12-11 overall, 9-6 NECC) led from wire to wire and were paced by a game-high 22 points from Donavan McClean. Parris Hill added 19 points while Joshua Ford contributed 12 points, 11 rebounds and three assists.

Kwame Thompson led the Nighthawks (3-21 overall, 2-13 NECC) with 21 points and six assists. Mills Carrasco chipped in with 17 points while Kenny Ramos came off the bench to net 14. Cameron Owen rounded out the scorers in double digits with 11 points.

Mitchell scored the first 14 points of the game over the opening 4:48 and never looked back. McClean provided five points during the stretch while Hill added four, and the Mariners never let the lead slip below double digits again.

The Mariners shot 7-for-12 from three-point range in the first half as five different players connected from deep. Conversely, Newbury shot just 1-for-15 from beyond the arc and took more than half of its shot attempts from downtown. 

The lead swelled to as many as 30 in the second half, though the Nighthawks ended up outscoring the Mariners 49-45 in the stanza. Thompson netted 19 of his 21 points in the second half while Carrasco added 15. 

Hector Aleman was honored prior to the game on Senior Night and got the starting nod for the Mariners. He finished the game with seven points and added two rebounds and a pair of assists in 21 minutes.  

All five of Mitchell's starters shot 50 percent or better in the contest. McClean was 9-for-12 from the field and 4-for-5 from three and also handed out four assists in 24 minutes. 

Mitchell will wrap up regular season play at Becker College on Saturday, February 21 at 1 p.m. Newbury returns to action at home against Wheelock College on Saturday at 4 p.m.