Hill's 37 Points Leads MBB Past Newbury

NEW LONDON, Conn. – Spurred by a season-high 37 points from Parris Hill, the Mitchell College men's basketball team earned an 87-79 victory over Newbury College in a New England Collegiate Conference matchup on Tuesday night at the Yarnall Athletic Center.

Hill's monster game highlighted a strong effort by the Mitchell frontcourt. Domenico Santiago added 18 points while Donavan McClean chipped in with 12, and the trio shot a combined 30-for-44 from the floor. The Mariners shot a season-high 60 percent as a team and improved to 5-9 overall and 4-4 in NECC play.

Jeduan Langston led Newbury (2-15 overall, 1-8 NECC) with a double-double of 25 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Ceejae Carter contributed 16 points while Devin Johnson came off the bench to add 14.

The entire game was played at a frenetic pace, with both teams pushing the ball up the floor and attacking the rim. Hill carried the scoring load for the Mariners in the first half as both Santiago and McClean played limited minutes due to foul trouble. Hill shot 9-for-13 and netted 22 points in the stanza as Mitchell led by as many as 11.

Langston and Carter did their best to keep the Nighthawks in the game, each scoring 10 points in the opening half. A three-pointer by Johnson was the final basket of the period and pulled Newbury to within seven at 43-36 at intermission.

The Mariners came out at full strength in the second half, and the front line combined to score 37 of the team's 44 points in the period. A jumper by McClean capped a 7-0 run that gave Mitchell its largest lead at 68-48 with 10:15 remaining in the game. Langston countered with 15 points in the stanza for the Nighthawks, but in the end it wasn't enough.

Both Hill and Santiago grabbed eight rebounds while McClean finished with six. Alan Morgan had nine points to go with a game-high eight assists while Frank Martin added five points, four assists and two steals.

Mitchell will next play at Connecticut College on Thursday, January 28 at 7 p.m. Newbury returns to action at home against Tufts University on Thursday at 7 p.m.