Strong Second Half Propels Men’s Basketball Past Salve
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Salve Regina (1-2,0-0 NEWMAC) | 33 | 42 | 75 |
|
Mitchell (2-0,0-0 Great Northeast) | 30 | 54 | 84 |
BIDDEFORD, ME – The Mitchell College men's basketball team ran their record to 2-0 to begin the season by defeating Salve Regina University 84-75 on Saturday night inside the Harold Alfond Forum at the Jim Beaudry Classic, hosted by the University of New England.
Senior Jaylyn Clardy (Pensacola, Fla.) led all scorers with 30 points on 50% shooting (10-20). Clardy added 11 rebounds, two assists, and one steal. He is now averaging 27.5 points for the Mariners across the first two games of the season. Junior Eddie Volkerts (New London, Conn.) notched his first double-double for Mitchell with 21 points and 15 rebounds, while Brandon Lee (Stockton, Cali.) continued the strong start to his junior year, finishing with 11 points and six rebounds.
The two squads opened by exchanging baskets in the early going before Salve snapped an 11-11 tie on a layup by Declan Walmsley with six minutes gone by. The Seahawks were able to maintain their slim advantage over the Mariners for the majority of the first half, before Mitchell knotted the score at 28-28 on a jumper by Clardy, and took the lead on a Wilton Causey (Worcester, Mass.) layup with 2:01 on the clock.
A three-pointer by Walmsley and a Sean Seymour layup closed out the half, giving Salve a 33-30 edge at intermission.
As the second half got underway, both teams continued to trade baskets and exchange leads multiple times, until Clardy knocked down a shot from downtown five minutes and eight seconds into the stanza to give the Mariners a 48-45 edge. Mitchell would lead the rest of the way fending off multiple runs by the Seahawks early, while building a lead down the stretch which grew as large as 15 after Eddie Volkerts drained a triple with 5:51 remaining.
Sean Seymour poured in 18 points to pace the Seahawks, while Jojo Powers chipped in 17 points on 5-9 shooting.
The Mariners (2-0, 0-0 GNAC) advance to the championship game of the Jim Beaudry Classic on Sunday, November 17, at 3:00 pm, where they will face Maine Maritime Academy, 82-79 winners over the host Nor'easters earlier on Saturday. The Seahawks (1-2, 0-0 NEWMAC) return to the court for the consolation game against UNE on Sunday, November 17, at 1:00 pm.
