MBB Eliminated at Becker in NECC First Round

LEICESTER, Mass. - Third-seeded Becker College defeated sixth-seeded Mitchell College, 88-78, in first round of the 2016 New England Collegiate Conference Men's Basketball Championship on Tuesday evening at Leicester Gymnasium.

The Hawks improved to 16-10 overall while the Mariners ended the season at 9-15. Becker advances to the semifinals against Elms College on Friday, February 26 at 8:00 p.m. The game will be played at top-seeded Southern Vermont College.

The two teams exchanged the lead four times in the first half, with neither growing a margin larger than four over the first 12 minutes of the game. Becker earned the first five-point lead of the game when Kareem Davis stole the ball and fed Kyle Credle for a fast break layup.

Mitchell responded with a 7-0 run, capped off by a Frank Martin three-pointer that yielded a 34-32 lead with 3:06 remaining in the half. After a pair of free throws by Reginald Finney tied the game, Martin nailed another three to put the Mariners up 37-34.  

Finney brought the Hawks within one with a layup, but on Mitchell's next possession Martin was fouled on a three-point attempt. He hit all three free throws to put Mitchell up 40-36. Becker then used a pair of free throws from Finney and layup from Davis to send the teams into their locker rooms tied at 40-40.

Becker jumped out to an early lead in the second half, only to watch Donavan McClean score eight consecutive points to give Mitchell a 51-49 advantage. With the game tied at 56-56 Mitchell went on a 6-0 run to take its largest lead of the game with 11:37 left on the clock.

Samuel Durodola scored consecutive baskets to pull the Hawks within two. After freshman Domenico Santiago put back a rebound to give the Mariners a four-point lead, Rashaun Liggon and Durodola hit back-to-back shots for Becker to tie the game at 64-64.

After Parris Hill and Kyle Credle exchanged threes, Mitchell went on a 6-0 run with three straight layups. Following a Becker timeout, Davis brought the fans in Leicester Gymnasium to their feet with back-to-back threes, tying the game for the 10th time.

Becker took a 77-75 advantage with 2:41 remaining when Credle fed Durodola for a fast break dunk. After Hill tied the game with a pair of free throws, Becker went on an 11-1 run to close out the game, including an 8-for-8 showing from the charity stripe.

Durodola earned his 12th double-double of the season after finishing with a game-high 30 points and 11 boards. Davis scored 13 of his 18 points in the second half while dishing out seven assists. Finney added 16 points, with Credle rounding out the starters in double figures with 13 points. Liggon pulled down 10 boards in his final home game in royal and white.

The Mariners matched the Hawks with four starters in double figures. McClean finished his collegiate career with a team-best 22 points to go with nine rebounds. Hill completed his tremendous career with 14 points. Alan Morgan and Martin tallied 16 points each while Santiago grabbed a team-best 10 rebounds.