Thursday, December 1, 2011(Newton, Massachusetts) - The Mount Ida College men's basketball team surrendered only three points in overtime solidifying a 66-63 non-league victory over visiting Mitchell College Thursday evening in Newton, Massachusetts. The Mustangs gave up only nine points through the final 15 minutes of play to seal up the win for their third of the season.
Mount Ida improves to an overall record of 3-1 with their first Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) bid approaching this Saturday against visiting rival and neighboring foe Lasell College. The visitors fall to 2-4 for the year.
The Mustangs jumped out to an immediate five point advantage (8-3) through the first two and a half minutes of play following a good lay-in by senior captain Joe Cabral (Walpole, MA/Walpole).
The visitors countered with a small 8-2 run to capture their first lead of the contest after a successful lay-up by Mariners senior Jeff Gomez (New London, CT/Grasso Tech) up 11-10 with 15:38 to go in the first stanza.
Mitchell began to shoot the ball very consistently and would eventually build a seven point advantage up 20-27 following a good trifecta by senior Terrance Fisher (Richmond, VA/Richmond Christian School) with eight minutes remaining before the break.
After chipping away for the next couple of minutes the Mustangs managed to cut the visiting lead down to one point (30-29) after a successful lay-in by junior Jeff McNair (Brockton, MA/Brockton) with three ticks remaining in the half.
The Mariners would ultimately head into the locker room with a small 34-31 advantage. Mount Ida dominated the offensive boards in the first half snatching 16 of their 31 points off second chances while the visitors saw 18 points from their bench shooting 60 percent from downtown.
Mitchell maintained their advantage inflating their lead to nine points (46-39) with 14:50 showing on the clock after a good lay-up by sophomore Joshua Ford (Jersey City, NJ/Saint Anthony).
Mount Ida cut the visiting lead to a deuce (46-44) two minutes later after a Cabral lay-in but it was immediately snuffed out following an 8-0 run to go ahead by 10 up 54-44 for the biggest advantage of the night by either team.
The Mustangs chipped away slowly eventually tying the game with a minute to go after a successful McNair lay-in. The visitors had three chances at the end of the game, including a wide open lay-in with a second to go, but the Mariners could not convert sending the game into overtime knotted at 60-60.
Mount Ida sunk the opening basket of the first extra period and never looked back with stymieing defense and key free throws down the stretch by senior Travis Hillery (Tyngsboro, MA/Central Catholic) capturing the 66-63 non-conference win.
Senior captain Isiah Benjamin (Windsor, CT/The Masters School) led the Mustangs with a game high 16 points and four rebounds while Hillery added 13 points and nine caroms just missing his first double-double of the year. Cabral was again solid for Mount Ida under the basket with 10 boards and nine points. Freshman forward Jaiquan Wynter (Hartford, CT/Hartford Public) added four blocks.
The Mariners were led by senior Paul Jefferson (Waterbury, CT/Waterbury Arts Magnet School) with 15 points while freshman Trace Lanson (Boca Raton, FL/Berean Christian Academy) added 11 points.
Mount Ida will host their first GNAC bid of the year against neighboring rival Lasell College with game time slated for 1:00 p.m. The visitors host their first New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) contest of the year against Dainel Webster College Tuesday starting at 5:30 p.m.