The Mount Ida College men's basketball team dropped their fourth Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) loss of the season falling 66-57 Saturday afternoon to visiting Rivier College int eh front end of a double header with the women's team. The visitors built a 12 point advantage through the first half only to see it disappear following a 10-0 run by the Mustangs cutting the lead to 31-30 at the break. Mount Ida went ahead by seven points (43-36) midway through the final frame but gave it away after a cold shooting streak down the stretch yielding the loss.
The hosts fall to an overall record of 4-8 standing at 1-4 in league action while the visitors capture their first conference win of the year improving to a season record of 3-9, 1-4 in GNAC play.
The Mustangs were led by a team-high 17 points and 11 rebounds from junior center Jeffrey McNair (Brockton, MA/Brockton) god for a double-double. Senior guard Isiah Benjamin (Windsor, CT/The Masters School) added 15 points and six assists while fellow senior Joe Cabral (Walpole, MA/Walpole) also recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 caroms. Senior Travis Hillery (Tyngsboro, MA/Central Catholic) pulled down seven boards respectively.
Rivier saw an impressive offensive performance from sophomore guard Jake Nelson (Nashua, NH/Nashua South) pouring in a game-high 29 points adding six rebounds as well on 9-17 shooting from the floor. Junior guard Cliff Celestin (Boston, MA/Tabor) recorded 10 points along with four rebounds going 2-7 from downtown.
The action remained close through the opening minutes with the visitors holding a small six point (16-10) advantage after a Nelson jumper with 13 ticks to go in the first stanza.
Rivier powered through a 14-9 run through the next eight and a half minutes to pull ahead by double-digits leading 31-19 down the final leg of the first half capped on Nelson trifecta.
The Mustangs finished out the final four and a half minutes with a 10-0 run, led by Benjamin and Cabral, heading into the midway point with the Raiders edging the hosts 31-30.
Mount Ida jumped ahead by seven points up 43-36 through the first seven and a half minutes of the second half capped on a jumper by Benjamin.
A 7-0 run by Rivier put the visitors ahead by a digit (44-43) following a Celestin three ball with nine minutes remaining in the contest.
The Raiders would pad their advantage going ahead by nine points at the 4:28 mark after a successful lay-in by sophomore Tom Poitras (Bow, NH/Bow) leading 56-47.
The Mustangs had no answer for the visitors and eventually went cold offensively while Rivier made it a half high 12 point lead with less than a minute to go in the contest up 66-54 after two good free throws by Garon Whitney.
Rivier closed out the final tick riding home a 66-57 GNAC win good for their first of the season.
Mount Ida will host GNAC powerhouse St. Joseph's College (ME) Monday evening on Martin Luther King Day with game time slated for 6:00 p.m.