NEWTON, Mass. – Mount Ida College is on its way back to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball tournament after an 82-76 victory over Rivier University on Senior Day Saturday afternoon at Mount Ida Athletic Center.
The Mustangs (8-17, 6-12 GNAC), who will make a return to the postseason for the first time in three seasons, earn the #7 seed and will travel to #2 Johnson & Wales University on Tuesday for their quarterfinal matchup, with the time of that game still to be announced.
Senior Treace Macklin (Brockton, Mass.) was honored before the game as he played his final home game as a member of the Mustangs. Macklin scored eight points and dished out two assists and will be the only player on Mount Ida with playoff experience as they head into the second season.
Freshman point guard Jayson Clark (Austin, Texas) dished out a season-high 11 assists and scored eight points, while fellow first year Joey DeFillippi (Bristol, Conn.) scored 20 points, including shooting 4-8 from behind the three-point line.
Kevin Francis (Cromwell, Conn.) and Andre Ruff (Lowell, Mass.) added 22 and 21 points, respectively to pace the Raiders. Francis and Ruff scored 13 points apiece in the second half, despite the fact that both teams shot exactly 50% in the first half and then dipped below 40% after the break, where the Mustangs held a 45-34 lead.
Trailing by two points, 20-18 after a three-pointer by Raider junior Brendon Moran (Peabody, Mass.), Mount Ida took the lead for good on a triple by Clark and quickly extended that lead to eleven points with a 13-0 run that included back to back three-pointers by sophomore Ethan Dujon (Warwick, R.I.), who added 18 points and a pair of steals in the victory.
The lead grew to as much as 17 points with 12:09 remaining in the second half when Brendan Cunningham (Quincy, Mass.) made a layup to end nearly a three-minute field goal drought for both sides. Ruff answered quickly with a three-pointer and the teams began a five minute run in which the only made field goals were from behind the three-point line.
Francis made two of those triples for the Raiders, and when the dust settled, they had pulled to within eight points, 63-55, with 7:35 left to play.
Two free throws and a three-pointer by DeFillippi helped the Mustangs keep Rivier at bay, and freshman Patrick McKearney (Avon, Conn.), who scored 15 points and grabbed five rebounds in the game, put an exclamation point on the contest with a one-handed throw-down dunk after a steal and an assist by Clark, his 11th and final of the game.
Despite another made three-pointer from Francis, the Mustangs hit their free throws down the stretch to hold on for the victory, with Macklin sinking the final foul shot of the night to close his home Mustang career.
"This is a great opportunity for a young team to have a chance to play in the playoffs," said second year head coach Ben Davis, who saw his team win four of their last five GNAC games, including three straight on the road to bolster their place in the conference standings. "We came together as a group at the end of the year and kept fighting and working hard. They've earned this. They kept fighting and playing hard and earned this opportunity."
The Mustangs collected 20 assists on 24 made baskets Saturday afternoon, with freshman Kevin Conner (Mansfield, Mass.) dishing out three and Macklin and Cunningham each collecting a pair, complimenting Cunningham's nine points, two steals and six rebounds. He and McKearney also blocked a shot apiece.
Francis and Ruff, who led the team with four assists and three steals, combined to shoot 10-15 from behind the three-point line, while senior Jake Nelson (Nashua, N.H.) scored 14 points in his final game as a Raider. Edward Soucie (South Ryegate, Vt.) was the high man on the boards, with seven, leading Rivier to a 36-29 rebounding advantage.
Rivier sophomore Matthew Manning (Peabody, Mass.) pulled down five rebounds and picked up three assists and a steal.
Rivier closes out their season with a 4-21 record and a 3-15 mark in the conference.
Make sure to check back in with mountidamustangs.com to get updated information and a tournament preview as the men's basketball team prepares for the 2015 GNAC tournament.