Thursday, December 8, 2011 (Paxton, Massachusetts) - For the third consecutive game, the Mount Ida College men's basketball team fell this time to the hands of hosting Anna Maria College Thursday evening in Paxton, Massachusetts by another tight score of 72-69 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action.
It's the second straight loss the Mustangs have suffered in league play after falling to rival Lasell College in the season opener last Saturday. Through the past three games Mount Ida has lost by a combined seven points, twice by three points, including a buzzer beater against Lasell (85-83) and one point (66-65) against hosting non-league Fitchburg State University.
The Mustangs fall to an overall record of 3-4 and are still searching for their first GNAC win of the season while Anna Maria sits atop the conference standings at 2-0.
Mount Ida had a rough day beyond the arc shooting only 22 percent while the AmCats flourished at 55 percent for the evening.
Senior Keith Jones (Boston, MA/Lake Brantley (FL)/Mass. Bay C.C.) led the Mustangs and the game with 23 points and six steals while senior center Jeffrey McNair (Brockton, MA/Brockton) added 12 points and eight caroms. Mount Ida senior Isiah Benjamin (Windsor, CT/The Masters School) and freshman Special Rhodes (Hartford, CT/New London) chipped in 10 points each as well.
The hosts built a commanding double digit lead in the opening three and a half minutes of the contest and would go ahead by a half high 18 point lead with 11:32 to go before the midway point.
Anna Maria held onto the double figure advantage throughout the first stanza, never letting the lead dip below 13 points, heading into the locker room with a 37-21 lead.
The dominance by the AmCats continued throughout the second half leading by double digits for the bulk of the stanza until the Mustangs got desperate with three minutes to go cutting the advantage to eight points (66-58) after Jones trifecta.
Mount Ida fought back through the final minutes of the contest cutting the lead to a deuce after a three point play the hard way from Benjamin down 71-69 with 20 seconds remaining. That's as close as the Mustangs would get falling 72-69 after Benjamin missed a three at the buzzer for the loss.
The Mustangs will host non-conference Framingham State University this Saturday with game time slated for 1:00 p.m. They will have their final game of the semester on Monday against visiting non-league Wheelock College starting at 6:00 p.m.