Mount Ida College men's basketball junior captain Joe Cabral (Walpole, MA/Walpole) netted a game high 19 points en route to a 62-53 non-conference victory over visiting Wheelock College Tuesday night in Newton, Massachusetts closing the book on the first semester of play. The Mustangs improve to an overall record of 3-5 and remain at 0-2 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play while the Wildcats drop their second loss in a row falling to 4-5 overall.
In a tight battle throughout until the very end of the contest, the visitors pulled ahead by three points (6-3) after a successful jumper by senior Daniel Main (Hopedale, RI/Hopedale) early in the first half (14:45). Both teams struggled shooting in the opening stanza hovering around 30 percent each.
The Mustangs would knot the score three times in the next six minutes unable to take over the lead. Around the 7:26 mark, the Wildcats would go ahead by five points after another made jumper by Main for the 21-16 advantage.
Mount Ida ultimately cut the lead back down to one point after a couple of good free throws by Mustang junior captain Jimmy Wenz (Bayport, NY/Bayport-Blue Point) and a jumper by junior Travis Hillery (Tyngsboro, MA/Central Catholic) down 21-20 with 2:58 to go before the break.
The visitors went back ahead by four, but the Mustangs cut the visiting advantage back to a deuce after a good jumper by sophomore Jeffrey McNair (Brockton, MA/Brockton) down 24-22 heading into the locker room.
The score knotted three times through the first three minutes of the second stanza with neither team able to pull ahead. The Mustangs eventually turned up the offensive heat along with solid defensive play. They would spearhead a 9-1 run capped off on a freshman Xavier Wade (Bristol, CT/Bristol Eastern) for the 37-29 advantage with 14:28 to go.
The Wildcats followed with an 10-0 run of their own to take a one point lead after a three point play the hard way by visiting junior Kyle Pierce (Burlington, MA/Burlington) up 38-37 with 10:13 remaining.
The game continued to go back and forth with no more than two points separating the squads throughout the next five minutes. The play of the game was at the 2:23 mark that drastically changed the momentum of the contest in favor of Mount Ida.
Junior transfer David Gibbs (East Hartford, CT/The Masters School/UMASS-Amherst) was fouled behind the three point arc by Wildcat sophomore Bashir Hudson (Jamaica Plain, MA/Weston) giving Gibbs three shots from the charity stripe with his team up by one. Gibbs drained every freebie giving his team a four point lead (57-53).
Mount Ida's tenacious defense down the stretch won them the game capturing the 62-53 non-conference win heading into the semester break on a high note.
Along with a solid performance from Cabral, the Mustangs saw outstanding performances from Gibbs who added 12 points and eight points along with five assists and three blocks. Hillery was also exemplary chipping in 10 points and seven boards. McNair helped the defensive cause with four blocks and six caroms.
The Wildcats were led by junior Eric Rice (Woburn, MA/Woburn) adding a quiet 13 points while Pierce chipped in 11 points and six boards. Hudson tallied double digit rebounds for the visitors with 12.
The Mustangs will pick up their season after the break with a home game against visiting Lesley University on January 5, 2011 with tip-off slated for 6:00 p.m.