Tuesday, February 21, 2012 (Newton, Massachusetts) - The Mount Ida College men's basketball team closed out the 2011/2012 season in the quarterfinal round of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tournament for the third year in a row. It was the second straight season the Mustangs have fallen to hosting league member St. Joseph's College (ME) downed 79-43 Tuesday evening in Standish, Maine.
The Mustangs close out the season with an overall record of 9-17, 6-12 in league action.
The Monks utilized a lengthy offensive run to establish separation heading into intermission. Leading 19-14 with 9:35 left in the first half, St. Joe's outscored Mount Ida by a 15-6 margin in the closing minutes of the opening frame and carried a comfortable 36-20 advantage into the break.
Sophomore forward Nicholas Jobin (Westbrook, Maine) brought the crowd to life with a dunk on a fast break midway through the first half and led all scorers with 11 points going into the locker room. Junior center Jeffrey McNair (Brockton, MA/Brockton) paced the Mustangs with six first-half points.
Saint Joseph's shot a blistering 64 percent from the field and used the extra pass wisely with 11 assists in the opening stanza.
The second half was no friendlier to the visitors as St. Joe's, leading 44-26 at the 15:10 mark, posted a 13-0 run over the subsequent six minutes to secure a 57-26 cushion and break the Mustangs' spirits.
For Mount Ida, McNair tallied 12 points, five boards and three blocked shots and senior guard Isiah Benjamin (Windsor, CT/The Masters School) added 10 points, three assists and a pair of steals. Senior guard Keith Jones (Boston, MA/Lake Brantley (FL)/Massachusetts Bay Community College) chipped in with eight points and four steals in the losing effort.
Freshman forward Zach Blodgett (Glenburn, ME), who left the bench to score a team-high 12 points off a 5-7 shooting effort, netted a fast-break layup to lift his team to a game-high 38-point lead, 68-30, with 6:18 remaining and the Monks maintained at minimum a 33-point spread until the final buzzer rang.
For St. Joe's, senior guard Zach O'Brien (Schenectady, NY) registered a double-double with 11 points and a career-high 10 assists in 24 minutes of playing time and Jobin finished the contest with 11 points and four rebounds. Senior guard Chris Petzy (Kensington, NH) and sophomore guard Matthew Medeiros (Westport, MA) produced seven points and three boards apiece and sophomore forward James Philbrook (Auburn, ME) contributed four points, six boards and a pair of assists on the night.
All 15 Monks saw at least four minutes of court time and 14 different SJC players in the tourney win.
Overall, St. Joe's shot 57.9% (33-57) from the floor, 55% (11-20) from three-point range, and 50% (2-4) from the free-throw line while Mount Ida shot 36.2% (21-58) from the field and just 14.3% (1-7) from the stripe while missing all 11 bids from downtown.