Starters Shine in MBB's Win Over Newbury

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College men's basketball team led from wire to wire in a 91-71 victory over Newbury College on Saturday afternoon in New England Collegiate Conference action at the Yarnall Athletic Center.

All five Mitchell starters scored in double figures led by 32 points from Domenico Santiago, who shot 13-for-15 from the floor and grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds. Steffen Brunson added 15 points while Brayvon Young shot 4-for-9 from long range and finished with 14 points. Hasani Williams and Alan Morgan also recorded double-doubles, the former with 11 points and 11 rebounds while the latter put up 10 points and a game-high 12 assists.

Wayne Massey came off the bench to led Newbury with 17 points on 6-for-9 shooting that included four treys. Jeduan Langston chipped in 16 points and six rebounds while Donnell Skeen finished with 11 points in 16 minutes.

Mitchell came out hot at the start and jumped out to a 9-0 lead. Young got things started with a steal and a three before Morgan provided back-to-back buckets to force a Newbury timeout. After the break, Brunson converted a lay-up to cap the streak as the Mariners dominated the first 1:40 of the contest.

Massey got the Nighthawks on the scoreboard on the next possession, and the visitors eventually trimmed the deficit down to three before Mitchell picked it back up. The Mariners ripped off a 12-2 clip that included a pair of threes from Young and two baskets by Williams to lead 23-10 at the 12:05 mark.

Mitchell led by as many as 19 in half before taking a 48-34 advantage into the locker room at the break. Young and Williams each scored 11 points in the stanza while Santiago and Langston each contributed 10.

Santiago paced the Mariners with 22 points in the second half, many off of good looks from Morgan. During one stretch he scored 10 straight Mitchell points, and he was perfect from both the floor (9-for-9) and free throw line (4-for-4) in the stanza.

Mitchell shot 52 percent as a team and held a 49-29 edge on the glass.

Mitchell (10-9 overall, 6-2 NECC) will next host Elms College on Wednesday, January 31 at 6 p.m. Newbury (4-13 overall, 2-6 NECC) returns to action at home against Dean College on Tuesday, January 30 at 5:30 p.m.