Men’s Basketball Holds Off Anna Maria
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Anna Maria (7-14,2-8 Great Northeast) | 32 | 35 | 67 |
|
Mitchell (6-14,3-6 Great Northeast) | 38 | 31 | 69 |
NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College men's basketball team held off a late push by Anna Maria College on Tuesday night, outlasting the AMCATS 69-67 in a GNAC showdown at the Yarnall Athletic Center. The Mariners, who dropped a non-conference game against Anna Maria earlier this season, improve to 3-6 in GNAC play with the win, while the AMCATS fall to 2-8 within the conference.
Senior Dontae Pollard (Fort Walton Beach, Fla.) paced the Mariners with 19 points on 8-13 shooting. Pollard added four rebounds, two steals, and one block, while junior Jaylyn Clardy (Pensacola, Fla.) added 16 points, nine rebounds, and five assists. Freshman Elijah Miller (Ellington, Conn.) matched his career-best offensive output, scoring 11 points and adding eight rebounds, four assists, and four steals.
The Mariners were able to build an early advantage and carried a 38-32 lead over the AMCATS into halftime. Jaylyn Clardy opened the second half with a three-pointer to give Mitchell a nine-point advantage, and Dontae Pollard followed with a jumper of his own seconds later to make it an 11 point game. The AMCATS chipped away down the stretch, eventually taking their first lead since the opening half, 60-59, when Sean Zabari made a layup with 5:58 left in the game.
A layup by Pollard pushed the Mariners back on top not long after, but once again the AMCATS countered, moving ahead by one when Jopaul McKrieth converted on two free-throws with 4:13 remaining. The back and forth affair continued, as Mitchell then took the lead when Pollard knocked down a jump shot, drew a foul, and connected from the stripe, but it was short lived as Trent Smith connected from downtown with 2:02 on the clock to once again put Anna Maria on top by one, 65-64.
Following a timeout, Gabe Armstead was fouled and made both free-throws to give the AMCATS a three-point edge, but with just under a minute to go, junior Kenny Lewis (Orlando, Fla.) nailed a bank shot to trim the Mitchell deficit to one. After Armstead missed a jumper on the next possession, Clardy pulled down a rebound for the Mariners and drew a foul. The junior made both free-throws to give Mitchell a 68-67 lead and a big defensive stop sealed the third conference win of the season for the Mariners.
The Mariners shot 48.3% from the floor and limited the AMCATS to just 41.7% shooting. Mitchell also won the rebounding battle 38-30, handed out four more assists than Anna Maria, and forced 20 turnovers in a game which featured 10 ties and 30 lead changes.
Gabe Armstead netted a team-high 15 points for the AMCATS and added eight rebounds, six assists, and three steals. Trent Smith and Jakai Alexandre chipped in 12 points apiece, while Sean Zabari added 12 points and five rebounds in the loss.
The Mariners (6-14, 3-6 GNAC) will look to make it two GNAC wins in a row when they travel for a road showdown at New England College on Saturday, February 3rd. The AMCATS (7-14, 2-8 GNAC) return to the court on Saturday, February 3rd, playing at Colby-Sawyer College.
