Men’s Basketball Nips Warner in Road Showdown

LAKE WALES, Fla. – The Mitchell College men's basketball team held off a late charge by Warner University and picked up their second victory of the season on Tuesday evening, 82-81 in non-conference action at the Turner Athletic Center.

After trailing for the entirety of the fourth quarter, the Royals went ahead by one in the final minute of the game, but a put back basket by Mitchell senior Dontae Pollard (Fort Walton Beach, Fla.) with 7.9 seconds left allowed the Mariners to escape with the win.

Junior Jaylyn Clardy (Pensecola, Fla.) finished with 20 points, four rebounds, seven assists, and two steals to lead four Mariner players who finished in double-figures scoring. Fellow junior Kenny Lewis (Orlando, Fla.) chipped in 18 points, while Pollard scored 16 points, and junior Wilton Causey (Worcester, Mass.) added 12 points and seven rebounds off the bench.

The Mariners opened the game on a 7-0 run, but the Royals battled back and took a six-point lead with 13:45 left in the half on a three-pointer by Skyler Scull. Another 7-0 run followed to put Mitchell back on top, but Warner tied the game at 21-21 moments later. The Mariners then began to pull away, outscoring the Royals 26-19 over the final 11 minutes and 15 seconds to carry a 47-40 advantage into the locker room.

The second half saw Mitchell maintain their edge, which grew to as many as 11 points on two occasions midway through the stanza. The Royals continued to chip away and finally tied the game at 75-75 with 2:06 on the clock when Nick Lowery knocked down a basket from long range. Wilton Causey responded with a layup to push the Mariners back ahead by two, and a three ball from Kenny Lewis made it 80-75 in favor of the visiting team with just over one minute to go. Warner then scored six points in under a minute to take their first lead of the half, 81-80, after Logan West made a pair of free throws and Darling Blaize Jr. tallied back to back layups.

Following a timeout by Warner with just 16 seconds left, the Mariners pushed the ball across midcourt and Dontae Pollard was able to finish on a put back with 7.9 seconds on the clock to give Mitchell the 82-81 lead, which they would close the game with.

The Mariners shot 44.9% from the floor and handed out 10 more assists than Warner. They also forced 19 turnovers while only turning the ball over eight times, leading to 32 points off turnovers for Mitchell.

Logan West and Blaize Darling Jr. finished with 23 points apiece for the Royals, while Nick Lowery added 10 points off the bench in the loss.

The Mariners (2-8, 0-1 GNAC) will play their final game of 2023 when they return to the court in Florida on Wednesday, December 20th, facing off against Weber International University in non-conference action at 5:00 pm. Warner (7-5) will return to play when they host Missouri Baptist University on Saturday, December 30th.