NEWTON, Mass. – Mount Ida played stifling defense and got 21 points from freshman point guard Joey DeFillippi (Bristol, Conn.) to hold down Suffolk University and collect a convincing 73-52 victory in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon at Mount Ida Athletic Center.
The Mustangs never trailed as they collected their second straight victory and their second GNAC win over the year (4-13, 2-8 GNAC). Suffolk (7-10, 4-6 GNAC) was held to just 13 field goals in the game, and gleaned 21 of their points from the free throw line.
Mount Ida racked up four blocks and three steals in the first half and held Suffolk to just 5-30 shooting (16.7%) in that half as they opened up a double-digit lead with a 14-2 run to start the game.
The lead reached 22-9 before an 8-2 spurt for the Rams, capped by a triple by Curtis Casella (Saugus, Mass.) brought the Mount Ida lead back to seven points.
Kevin Conner (Mansfield, Mass.) remedied that when he converted a three-point play en route to a seven point, five rebound performance to push the lead back to ten points, 27-17, with just over a minute left in the half. Three free throws by Suffolk sent the teams to the break with Mount Ida nursing a 27-20 advantage.
Suffolk senior Sam Nwadike (Houston, Texas), leading the conference with 24.2 points per game coming into the contest, was bottled up by the Mustang defense and forced into a 1-14 shooting day. Nwadike managed nine points, seven of them on foul shots, but did lead the Rams with 10 rebounds, helping the visitors to a 45-38 edge on the boards.
Nwadike made his only jumper to open the second half and pull the Rams within five points, but Mount Ida opened up their lead again by holding the Rams to just two field goals over the first ten minutes of action in the second half.
During that time, Mount Ida sophomore Ethan Dujon (Warwick, R.I.) scored ten points as DeFillippi and fellow freshman point guard Jayson Clark (Austin, Texas) set up their teammates for baskets.
DeFillippi handed out three assists in the game, while Clark dished out six helpers and had three steals to go with eight points. Dujon finished the game with 15 points on 5-7 shooting.
Clark made a pair of three pointers half a minute apart and Mount Ida had their lead up to twenty points, 62-42, with 5:41 left on the clock.
Sophomore center Matt Duquette (Swampscott, Mass.) led Suffolk with 14 points and pulled down eight rebounds, while teammate Jake Meister (Madison, N.J.) just missed a double-double with ten points and nine rebounds. Casella ended the night with eight points, three rebounds, an assist, and a steal.
The Mustangs were led on the glass by the double-double of freshman Patrick McKearney (Avon, Conn.), who grabbed 11 rebounds and scored ten points while also swatting two Suffolk shots, stealing a pass and handing out an assist.
Conner and DeFillippi each corralled five rebounds as well in the win.
The Mustangs take a small break in a six-out-of-seven home stretch when they travel to Emmanuel on Wednesday night for a 7:00 pm GNAC tip-off.
Suffolk hosts Johnson & Wales at the same time in Boston.