Men’s Basketball Sunk by Three Ball in Loss to Coast Guard
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Coast Guard | 46 | 33 | 79 |
|
Mitchell | 35 | 28 | 63 |
NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College men's basketball team was unable to contain the shooting of the Coast Guard Academy on Tuesday afternoon, falling to their crosstown rival 79-63 in non-conference action at the Yarnall Athletic Center. The loss drops the Mariners overall record to 0-4, marking the first time since the 2016-17 season that Mitchell has begun a full season with four consecutive losses.
The Bears came into the game having shot over 43% from three-point territory over their past two games, and were once again immediately able to find success from beyond the arc. Coast Guard shot 10-20 from long range in the first half, building an 11-point advantage at halftime, and finished the game 13-31 (41.9%) from downtown. Meanwhile, the Mariners turned in another subpar shooting performance, finishing 37.3% from the floor, 25% from three, and 68.8% from the free throw line. The Bears shot 48.4% overall and were a perfect 6-6 from the charity stripe.
Junior Jaylyn Clardy (Pensacola, Fla.) turned in the best game of his young Mitchell career, carrying the offensive load with a season-high 28 points to go along with eight rebounds and three assists. Clardy was the lone Mariner to finish in double-figures scoring, as junior Wilton Causey (Worcester, Mass.) chipped in nine points off the bench, while junior Robert Zirlis (Clinton, Conn.) and sophomores Bishop Taylor (Aberdeen, MD) and Brandon Lee (Stockton, Cali.) added seven points apiece. Taylor also recorded four rebounds, four assists, and three steals, and Lee grabbed double-digit rebounds for the second time this season, pulling down a team-high 10.
After Mitchell's Jaylyn Clardy scored the first basket of the game 19 seconds in on a jump shot, the Bears answered with a Ben Yagey three pointer with 45 seconds gone by. Coast Guard would lead the rest of the way, building a lead that grew to as large as 20 down the stretch in the second half.
Yagey paced the Bears with 22 points and added nine rebounds. Elijah Parent joined him in double-figures, pouring in 19, as did Mitch Shettles, who scored 12. Big man Cameron Brown was a difference maker in the paint for Coast Guard, finishing with six rebounds, six blocks, four assists, and three steals.
The Mariners (0-4, 0-0 GNAC) will break for the Thanksgiving holiday before resuming play on Tursday November 30th, when they travel to face Anna Maria College in a non-conference showdown with their GNAC foe. The Bears (4-1, 0-0 NEWMAC) return to play on Wednesday, November 29th, when they stay in New London for a non-conference game at home against Connecticut College.
