The Mount Ida College men's and women's basketball teams traveled to Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) member Albertus Magnus College Thursday night for their first GNAC double header action of the season.
The Mount Ida College men's basketball team dropped their first loss since returning from the semester break snapping a two game winning streak against hosting Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) foe Albertus Magnus College, 88-79, Thursday night in New Haven, Connecticut. The Mustangs fall to 8-4 overall, 3-2 in conference play while the Falcons haul their skid and improve to 7-4, 4-1 in the conference.
Albertus built a commanding 17 point advantage within their first eight minutes of the first half capped off on a lay-in by Falcon sophomore Ray Askew (Hampden, CT/Career) up 28-11. Mount Ida chipped away vigorously at the deficit cutting the lead to seven points after a three point play by Mustang sophomore Travis Hillery (Tyngsboro, MA/Central Catholic) trailing 32-25 at the 6:54 mark.
Falcon freshman standout Jefferson Lora (Bronx, NY/Lyman Hall) continued to power the hosts' offense dialing in 22 of his 34 points in the first half. Mount Ida kept pace and only trailed by six points heading into the locker room finishing the half with two successful free throws from senior captain Darren Martinez (Dorchester, MA/Brookline) down 50-44.
The Mustangs came out hot and eventually captured their first lead of the contest with 14:35 to go in the second half up by a deuce (59-57) after a Hillery lay-in. The game would knot three times in the next four minutes with both teams battling for the advantage.
The Falcons ultimately kept the Mustangs at arm's length building a small margin of five points after an Askew lay-up leading 70-65 with 8:51 showing on the clock. Mount Ida tied the game for the eighth time of the night after a freshman Jonathan Figueroa (Hartford, CT/Howell Cheney Tech.) at 70-70 with 6:54 to go in the contest.
Unfortunately for the Mustangs, the visitors powered an 8-0 run that lasted over three minutes giving the Falcons a commanding eight point lead with 4:09 left. Mount Ida tried desperately to regain their momentum and eclipse the lead in the final minutes. But the hosts held strong and eventually captured the 88-79 victory good for their fourth GNAC win of the season.
Mount Ida was led by Martinez with a team high 20 points and eight assists while Hillery and sophomore Nick Lynch (Hampton Bays, NY/Hampton Bays) chipped in 15 points apiece and combined for 15 caroms. Sophomore Joe Cabral (Walpole, MA/Walpole) notched 10 points with eight boards on the evening as well. Mount Ida had a very difficult night from the charity stripe converting on 12 of their 24 chances (8-20 in the first half) for a measly 50 percent.
Lora was too much for the Mustangs to handle dropping 34 points and grabbing 17 boards good for a double-double and converting 15-16 attempts from the free throw line.
The Mustangs will host Suffolk University this coming Saturday in a men/women GNAC double dip starting with the women at 1:00 p.m. and the men immediately following.
Despite a solid 21 point performance from Mount Ida College women's basketball freshman Missy Collins (East Hartford, CT/East Hartford), the Mustangs dropped a tough 87-70 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) loss to hosting Albertus Magnus College Thursday night in New Haven, Connecticut. The Mustangs fall to 7-8 overall, 0-2 in conference play while the Falcons improve to 3-9, 1-1 in the GNAC.
The Falcons quietly built a six point advantage in the opening 5:22 of the contest capped by a Crsytal Bryant (New Haven, CT/Career) jumper up 12-6. Mount Ida knotted the score at the 13:32 mark after a good trifecta by Collins at 14-14.
The hosts eventually jolted a seven point lead after a jumper by Bryant up 27-20 with 8:59 to go before the break. After Mount Ida cut the Falcon advantage back to a deuce (27-25) after a lay-in by sophomore Jenny Davis (Bristol, England/Filton College), the hosts went on an offensive tear inflating their advantage to 13 up 40-27.
Mount Ida had trouble containing the Falcons baskets and fell behind by 14 points with just under a minute to go before the horn. The teams eventually headed into the break with the Mustangs trailing 45-35 on a last second bucket by Collins to pull Mount Ida within 10.
The second half didn't get any better for the Mustangs while the hosts built a huge 18 point lead with 14:50 to go in the contest after a jumper in the lane. Mount Ida had trouble keeping pace with Albertus relinquishing a game high 22 point lead at the five minute mark down 83-61 after two successful free throws by sophomore Liz Williams (West Haven, CT/Hyde).
The Falcons ultimately rode home the 87-70 GNAC victory, good for their first conference win of the season while the Mustangs are still searching for theirs.
Along with Collins, The Mustangs saw two other players in double figures. Senior Cherie Parisi (South Attleboro, MA/Attleboro) notched 15 points with six boards while fellow senior Nicole Casimiro (Lee, NH/Oyster River) added 14 points of her own.
Bryant led the way for the Falcons with a game high 20 points and 15 boards good for a double-double.
The Mustangs will host GNAC foe Emerson College this Saturday in the front end of a men/women double dip starting at 1:00 p.m.