Saturday, January 7, 2012 (Northfield, Vermont) - Leading for the bulk of the contest, the Mount Ida College men's basketball team fell behind with two minutes to go and were unable to recover dropping their third Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) of the season at Norwich University Saturday afternoon by a score of 63-59. The Mustangs, who led by a point at halftime (27-26), struggled offensively shooting only 33 percent from floor for the game and a measly 19 percent from downtown converting on five of 26 attempts for the day from beyond the arc.
Mount Ida was led by senior guard Keith Jones (Boston, MA/Lake Brantley (FL)/Mass. Bay C.C.) with a game-high 17 points while junior Jeffrey McNair (Brockton, MA/Brockton) grabbed a game-high 15 boards along with nine points. Senior forward Travis Hillery (Tyngsboro, MA/Central Catholic) notched his fourth double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 caroms while senior guard Isiah Benjamin (Windsor, CT/The Masters School) added 13 points respectively.
The Mustangs built a nine point advantage through the first seven minutes (13:10) of play capped on a trifecta by Jones leading 19-10.
An 11-0 run by the Cadets ensued to capture their second lead of the contest up 21-19 with 8:49 to go before the break.
Mount Ida regained the advantage immediately following the run by Norwich going ahead by five points (27-22) after a three point play the hard way by Hillery with three minutes remaining in the opening stanza.
The hosts scored the final fourth points of the half cutting the Mustang advantage to a digit (27-26) heading into the locker room.
To start the second stanza, Mount Ida built a commanding eight point lead three minutes into the final frame up 38-30 after a successful jumper by Hillery.
The Mustangs maintained their lead up by a handful of baskets for the next five minutes. Norwich came firing back to knot the score at 42-42 following 12-4 run with 12:45 to go in the game.
The action went back-and-forth with no more than a basket separating the score. Hillery knocked down another jumper at the eight minute mark to put Mount Ida up by three (50-47).
After poor shooting on both sides for the next couple of minutes, the visitors would pull ahead with 1:41 remaining up 58-55 following a successful trifecta.
The Mustangs went cold offensively through final stretch hitting on two of six attempts down the stretch to fall 63-59 for their second GNAC loss of the season.
Mount Ida men's basketball will host Anna Maria College in league action this coming Thursday night with game time slated for 6:00 p.m.