Men’s Basketball Has No Answer for USJ

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) men's basketball team jumped out to a fast lead and led wire to wire Wednesday night, defeating Mitchell College 123-65 in GNAC action at the Yarnall Athletic Center. The Mariners fall to 2-5 in GNAC play with the loss, while USJ remains undefeated in conference play, improving their record to 8-0.

The Blue Jays scored the first nine points of the game over the opening minute and 45 seconds, and held a commanding 70-28 edge at halftime. USJ proved nearly unstoppable shooting the ball, firing a 67.7% clip from the floor, finishing 58.6% from three-point range, and making 18 of 21 free throws. The Mariners were able to make the second half more competitive, but the Blue Jays cruised to their seventh consecutive victory.

Dontae Pollard (Fort Walton Beach, Fla.), Wilton Causey (Worcester, Mass.), and Jaylyn Clardy (Pensacola, Fla.) each finished with 14 points for Mitchell, who shot just 36.1% overall and 22.7% from downtown. Clardy added six rebounds, five assists, and a pair of steals, while Causey grabbed four boards and freshman Elijah Miller (Ellington, Conn.) chipped in six points and five rebounds.

Tyree Mitchell paced the well balanced USJ offensive attack, tallying a game-high 21 points on 8-10 shooting. Mitchell also grabbed five rebounds, while Kevin Cummings (17 points) Lence Altenor (16 points), Jalen Samuels (14 points), Neill Dickey (12 points), and Friedrich Feldrappe (11 points) each also finished in double-figures scoring for the Blue Jays, who had 13 players record at least one point.

The Mariners (5-13, 2-5 GNAC) will look to get back on track when they return to conference play on Saturday, January 27th, battling Colby-Sawyer College in the second game of a GNAC doubleheader. The Blue Jays (15-4, 8-0 GNAC) will look to make it eight straight wins when they play at Dean College on Tuesday, January 30th.