The Mount Ida College men's basketball team participated in the 2010 annual tip-off tournament hosted by Mitchell College capturing a third place finish this Saturday with a victory over Green Mountain College winning 95-39. The Mustangs dropped their opening round game to tournament victor Mount Saint Vincent College losing 107-79 Friday afternoon. The Mustangs come home with a 1-1 record and will host non-conference Newbury College Tuesday evening with tip-off slated for 6:00 p.m. They have yet to play a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) game.
In the opening round game of the tournament, junior David Gibbs (East Hartford, CT/Masters School) poured in 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting to lead the Mustangs (0-1 overall). Classmate Isiah Benjamin (Windsor, CT/Masters School) added 13 points and seven assists while junior Joe Cabral (Walpole, MA/Walpole) finished with 11 points and a game-high eight rebounds.
Mount Saint Vincent junior Omonya Onwe (Staten Island, NY/Curtis) netted a game-high 24 points to pace four players in double figures. Junior Cody Gauvard (Rockaway, NY/St. Edmund's) chipped in with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting while sophomores Shaquille Cunningham (Brooklyn, NY/Nazareth Regional) and George Naldjieff (Miami, FL/Archbishop Carroll) contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively. Senior Alvin Pegues (Brooklyn, NY/Thomas Jefferson) handed out a game-high nine assists to pace the Dolphins' offense.
The Dolphins used a swarming defense to force 22 turnovers and get easy baskets in transition. Mount Saint Vincent held a 20-11 advantage in fast break points and also battled to a 66-42 edge in points in the paint.
With the score tied at 18-18 with 13:45 to play in the first half, the Dolphins took control behind a 19-4 run over the next 4:30. Five different players scored for Mount Saint Vincent during the stretch, led by eight points from Cunningham and five by Gauvard. Mount Ida got to within nine points at three different points in the closing minutes of the half but trailed 53-42 at intermission.
Mount Saint Vincent never let its lead dip below double digits in the second half and stretched the margin to as many as 31 points. The Dolphins eclipsed the century mark on a jumper by Eric Van Tine (Hawthorne, NJ/Hawthorne) with 3:25 remaining.
In the consolation round against visiting Green Mountain College, Mustang sophomore Nick Montanino (Dighton, MA/Dighton-Rehoboth) had game highs of 31 points and 12 rebounds to lead Mount Ida to victory in the consolation match-up. Senior Brian Hapgood (Braintree, MA/Braintree) had the best game of his career as a Mustang recording a triple-double with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists to earn a spot on the All-Tournament Team.
Senior Aaron Ashton (West Valley City, UT/Hunter) led Green Mountain with 20 points and added four rebounds. Classmate Matt Tarricone (Oneonta, NY/SUNY Delhi) finished with seven points and three boards and was the final All-Tournament Team selection.
Mount Ida scored off the opening tip and never trailed in the contest. The Mustangs steadily added to the lead over the course of the period and were ahead 51-16 at the break. Mount Ida shot 60 percent from the floor and finished with 29 assists on 43 field goals. Freshman Xavier Wade (Bristol, CT/Bristol Eastern) and junior James Wenz (Bayport, NY/Bayport-Blue Point) also scored in double figures for the Mustangs with 18 and 17 points, respectively.
Hapgood, a four-year letter winner for the Mustangs, made only his third career start and finished with career highs in all three major categories. With double-digit points and assists already under his belt, he pulled down his 10th rebound with 3:22 remaining in the contest to the delight of the Mount Ida bench.
Despite playing with only five players for the second straight day, Green Mountain improved its shooting percentage to 37 percent from the floor and went 5-for-10 from three-point range. Ashton and freshman Daniel Fifield (Royalton, VT/South Royalton) each drained a pair of treys in the losing effort.
Hapgood (left) selected to 2010 Mitchell
College All-Tournament Team (above)