Mount Ida College men's basketball freshman John Figueroa (Hartford, CT/Howell Cheney Tech) netted a game and career high 26 points off the bench leading the Mustangs past hosting Fitchburg State College in an 86-73 victory Thursday night. Mount Ida improves to 6-2 overall and remain 1-1 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play while the Falcons fall to 3-5 on the year.
Mount Ida took advantage of 22 Falcon turnovers and 23 personal fouls to grab a 13 point lead at the break and cruise to its sixth victory of the season. Along with Figueroa, sophomore Travis Hillery (Tyngsboro, MA/Central Catholic) was strong with 16 points on 8-of-13 shooting, while classmate Keith Jones (Boston, MA/Cathedral) added 15 points and five caroms.
In the first half, Mount Ida broke a 14-14 tie at the 14:59 mark, using a 29-6 run over the next ten minutes to hold a 23 point advantage. The Mustangs turned 14 Falcon turnovers into 19 points throughout the half, while shooting a blistering 50.0% from the field. Figueroa sparked the Mustang rally, coming into the contest at the 13:56 mark to net 12 points in the half, while Jones drained two buckets from long range and four from the field for another Mustang dozen.
Fitchburg State rallied back late in the half, cutting the Mount Ida lead to only 13 at intermission as freshman Nicolas Viera (Edgartown, MA/Martha's Vineyard) lifted the Falcons offense with eight points over the final 5:36 of play. Viera nailed two shots from beyond the arc and a lay-up while senior Tim Graham (Arlington, MA/Arlington) capped the rally with a pair of buckets in the post.
In the second half, the Mount Ida offense regained its momentum as Figueroa continued to carry the Mustangs, raining 3-of-4 from three point range and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe. The Mustangs jumped out to a comfortable 18 point lead as the Figueroa netted a pair of three's at the 14:02 mark, capping a 17-9 run. Junior Colin London (Worcester, MA/Doherty) led the Falcons second half efforts with ten points and two boards, while Viera added five.
Freshman Robert Hopkins (East Hartford, CT/RHAM) led all Fitchburg State scorers with 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting, while Viera and London each collected 13 for the game.
The Mustangs will have one final game before the mid-year break and will travel to non-conference Wheelock College starting at 7:30 p.m.