MBB Falls Short at Becker

LEICESTER, Mass. – Becker College defeated Mitchell College by a 93-86 final in New England Collegiate Conference men's basketball action Saturday afternoon.

The win lifted the Hawks record to 15-10 (10-6 NECC) while the Mariners dropped to 12-12 (9-7 NECC). The result also set up a rematch between the two teams in the first round of the 2015 NECC Championship next week, a contest that will be hosted by Becker.

The first half of action saw three lead changes, with Mitchell taking the largest advantage at 10 points. After a Scott Dulaire layup put the Hawks in front early with a 4-2 lead, Mitchell went on a 12-0 run which was capped off by a Parris Hill jumper. 

Becker began chipping away at the Mariners lead, coming within five points on five different occasions. A Samuel Durodola layup and a pair of free throws from Rashuan Liggon put Becker within a basket at 35-33 with 2:40 remaining in the half. After a missed layup by Mitchell's Donavan McClean, Durodola put back a missed shot from David Maturah to tie the game at 35-35. 

Becker took its first lead since 18:40 of the half when Liggon slammed home a dunk to make the score 37-35 in favor of the Hawks. Mitchell tied the game when Hill scored a layup while being fouled. He completed the old fashion three pointer to give the Mariners a 38-37 lead with 1:20 remaining in the half. Hill added a pair of free throws to close out the first period, sending the Mariners into the locker room with a 40-37 cushion. 

After Frank Martin opened the second half with a layup, the Hawks responded with a Liggon layup and a three-pointer from Dulaire to tie the game at 42-42. 

The teams exchanged baskets on three different occasions before a McClean layup and a pair of Martin free throws gave the Mariners a 55-51 lead with just over 15 minutes remaining in regulation. 

With Mitchell holding onto a 60-57 lead with 12:28 left on the clock, Dulaire scored a layup while being fouled and converted the three-point play to tie the game at 60-60. The two teams then exchanged layups before a Dulaire dunk and a Donovin Ford-Hayes three gave Becker a 67-62 advantage. 

After Hill brought the Mariners to within three with a layup, Dulaire and Ford-Hayes repeated their previous acts to give Becker an eight-point lead with 8:54 remaining. After Mitchell called a timeout, Dulaire continued his hot streak with a layup and yet another dunk to give the Hawks their largest lead of the game at 76-64. 

With Becker leading 80-71 with 5:19 on the clock, a dunk by Hill propelled the Mariners on an 11-0 run to take an 82-80 lead. 

The Hawks took the lead back with 55 seconds remaining when Dulaire made his way through a crowd of defenders for what proved to be the game-winning basket. A Jessy Michaud three-pointer later sealed the thrilling win for the Hawks. 

Dulaire finished with a game-high 32 points and netted 25 in the second half. Durodola went 6-for-9 the field to finish with 15 points off the bench. Maturah added 13 points while Ford-Hayes and Kyle Credle chipped in with 10 points apiece. Michaud was a point away from a double-double with nine points and a game-high 11 assists. 

Hill paced the Mariners with a team-best 25 points while ripping down 10 boards to earn a double-double. Martin went 10-for-11 from the charity stripe to finish with 19 points. McClean contributed 16 points while Joshua Ford was a basket shy of a double-double with nine points and 10 boards. 

The two teams will meet again in the opening round of the NECC Championship on Tuesday, February 24 at 7:00 p.m. at Leicester Gymnasium.