Williams Nets 1,000th Point as MBB Tops Becker

NEW LONDON, Conn. – Mitchell College used a strong first half to cruise to an 83-60 victory over Becker College on Wednesday night in a New England Collegiate Conference men's basketball clash at the Yarnall Athletic Center.

The Mariners shot 63 percent in the first half and outscored the Hawks by a 52-29 margin. Matt Finke led the charge by netting 14 of his game- and career-high 19 points in the opening stanza. He shot 5-for-10 from three-point range in the contest and also added four rebounds.

Finke was just one of four Mitchell starters who scored in double figures. Hasani Williams, who netted his 1,000th career point, finished with a double-double of 17 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Domenico Santiago added 18 points and nine rebounds while Steffen Brunson tallied 10 points and five assists.

Antonio White Jr. paced Becker with 16 points, four rebounds and three steals. Kareem Davis chipped in 14 points and four boards while Mekhi Chester came off the bench to added 10 points.

Mitchell used an early 10-0 run to seize control. Williams and Brunson each supplied a pair of baskets during a three-minute stretch that was capped by a layup from Santiago that made it 14-4 at the 14:54 mark.

The lead hovered around double digits until an 11-1 Mitchell spurt bumped the margin to 19 with 3:43 to go in the half. Becker went over five minutes without a field goal as the Mariners heated up from beyond the arc.

Finke provided the spark late in the half, drilling three treys in a two-minute stretch while also handing out a nifty assist to Santiago. Marvin Baker capped the first-half scoring with a three in the final minute as the Mariners took their biggest lead into intermission at 52-29.

Williams reached the milestone on his second field goal of the second half. He grabbed an offensive rebound and quickly converted the put-back to become just the fifth Mitchell men's player to reach the 1,000-point milestone in the program's Division III era.

Mitchell led by as many as 29 points in the second half and never let the margin dip below 23. The Mariners shot 57 percent for the game and held a 50-32 scoring edge in the paint.

Mitchell (14-7 overall, 8-4 NECC) will next host New England College on Saturday, February 2 at 2:30 p.m. Becker (5-15 overall, 4-7 NECC) returns to action at home against Southern Vermont College on Saturday at 3 p.m.