STANDISH, Maine – Mount Ida College cut their deficit to just four points with eight minutes to play in their Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball contest at Saint Joseph's College of Maine on Tuesday night, but saw the host Monks rip off a 14-0 run and emerge with an 82-65 victory at the Harold Alfond Center.
Freshman guard Jayson Clark (Austin, Texas) paced the Mustangs with 18 points, six assists and six steals, while Ethan Dujon (Warwick, R.I.) netted 13 points and freshman forward Patrick McKearney (Avon, Conn.) chipped in with nine points, two blocks and four caroms in a losing bid.
Monks senior guard Steve Simonds (Steep Falls, Maine) totaled 26 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and a pair of steals in the triumph.
Dujon scored five straight points to cut the deficit to 60-56 with 7:59 remaining on the clock in the second half after Simonds had drilled a three-pointer to put the hosts ahead 60-51.
Saint Joseph's held the lead for the vast majority of play but Mount Ida, which netted 23 points off 13 SJC turnovers in a losing effort, maintained a two-possession deficit for the better part of the first half and threatened to claim the lead on a pair of occasions in the second stanza. Both times, the Monks responded with scoring runs to stave off the feisty Mustangs and remain undefeated in conference play.
Leading 35-27 at the break, Saint Joseph's saw the cushion dwindle down to one point (46-45) after Mustangs freshman forward Kevin Conner (Mansfield, Mass.) converted a traditional three-point play 5:42 into the latter half. The Monks answered with nine unanswered points, as Simonds and freshman Quinn Richardson-Newton (Saco, Maine) combined to go 6-6 from the free throw line and sophomore guard Andrew Ruffen (Salem, N.H.) connected on a three to help the hosts claim a 55-45 advantage with 11:27 left.
The Monks shot 65.2% (15-23) from the field in the second half – 51.9% (28-54) overall – and posted a 94.7% (18-19) free throw shooting performance in the victory. Simonds, who scored 20 of his game-high 26 points in the second half, led the impressive charity stripe effort by making all 12 of his attempts from the line.
Simonds extended the Monks' lead to 20 (82-62) with two free throws at the 3:29 mark, and the hosts owned at least a 17-point cushion for the remainder of the conference contest.
Mustang freshman John Oliver (North Babylon, N.Y.) chipped in eight points, including 2-5 from downtown, while Conner added seven points in the game. The Mustangs attempted 28 three-pointers, tied for seventh most in a game in Mount Ida men's basketball history, including 17 in the first half, but hit on just five of those attempts on the night.
For the Monks, Richardson-Newton tallied 12 points and six boards, senior forward Zach Blodgett (Glenburn, Maine) added 11 points, and junior guard Craig Luschenat (Boston, Mass.) netted nine points. Senior guard Jordan Tripp (Queens, N.Y.) and junior guard Jerome Diggs (Washington, D.C.) contributed seven points apiece on the evening.
With the victory, Saint Joseph's (5-4, 3-0 GNAC) improves to 16-1 in the history of the series with Mount Ida College (1-9, 0-4 GNAC).
Both teams resume GNAC play on Thursday, when the Mustangs host Anna Maria College in a 6:00 PM start and the Monks travel to Johnson & Wales University for a 7:00 PM tip-off.