NEWTON, Mass. – With the seconds ticking down and Mount Ida trailing by a point, sophomore Jayson Clark (Austin, Texas) drove into the lane and put up a floating layup that sat on the corner of the rim but wouldn't go, and the Mustangs came up just short of a win in their Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball opener, falling 73-72 to Johnson & Wales University on Tuesday evening in front of an energetic packed house at Mount Ida Athletic Center.
In an entertaining game where the home team played their hearts out and held a four point lead with twenty-one seconds to play, the Green and White (4-2, 0-1 GNAC) narrowly missed an opportunity to knock off the Wildcats (4-1, 1-0 GNAC), who were projected to win the league this preseason, in a rematch of last year's conference quarterfinals.
Clark had five steals in the game and his theft and fast-break layup put Mount Ida ahead 70-68 just under the minute mark. On the next defensive possession, sophomore Patrick McKearney (Avon, Conn.) had one of his three blocks, swatting a jump shot by Wildcats leading scorer Quarry Greenaway (Westchester, N.Y.).
McKearney, who compiled a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, converted a layup at the other end to put the Mustangs up 72-68, but those were the last points the Mustangs would find.
Greenaway led all scorers with 29 points and had 10 rebounds himself, and he answered McKearney's score immediately with a three-point jump shot with thirteen seconds to play.
On Mount Ida's next inbound, Wildcats junior Anthony Jernigan (East Hartford, Conn.) stole a loose ball and made a layup to put the visitors ahead with six seconds left and shock the home crowd of 238.
Jernigan had 11 points in the contest for the Wildcats, who shot 55% from the field (11-20) in the second half.
Clark took the inbounds and raced the length of the floor, but he was unable to convert the winning runner, and ended the night with five points and two assists.
The Mount Ida defense set the tone in the first half, as steals on three consecutive possessions sparked an 11-0 run that gave Mount Ida their largest lead, a 28-18 advantage with 6:38 to play in the first half. That run included two layups by McKearney and a three-pointer by Joey DeFillippi (Bristol, Conn.), who scored 11 points in the game.
Kevin Conner (Mansfield, Mass.) scored ten of his fifteen points in the first half and Mount Ida wouldn't trail again in the half, though there were several ties, the last of which needed an Ethan Dujon (Warwick, R.I.) free throw to send the Mustangs to the break with a 35-34 lead.
The second half continued to be back and forth, as JWU sophomore Jarell Lawson (Providence, R.I.) tied the game at 40 with a three-pointer four minutes in, and then the Wildcats re-took a one point lead thanks to two free throws by Rudy Brito (Pawtucket, R.I.).
Despite back to back layups by Dujon, who had 11 points in the contest, JWU stretched their lead to five points thanks to a three-point play by Greenaway.
Mount Ida levelled things again at 58 with a triple by sophomore Brendan Cunningham (Quincy, Mass.), one of two three-pointers he knocked down in the game, and would take the lead with 3:28 to play on a layup by Kevin Conner.
Lawson answered with an offensive rebound and put back, then DeFillippi's second three-pointer of the game gave Mount Ida a 68-66 lead.
Greenaway made two free-throws on separate possessions to tie the game at 68, setting up Clark and McKearney's plays down the stretch.
DeFillippi had a game-high three assists, while Conner dished out two helpers and had two steals and four rebounds. Sophomore John Oliver (N. Babylon, N.Y.) added seven points and five rebounds off the bench for the Mustangs.
Mount Ida will hope to grab their first conference win on Saturday afternoon when they travel down Comm. Ave to battle rivals Lasell College at 3:00 pm.
Johnson & Wales plays their conference home opener on Thursday evening as Suffolk comes to town for a 7:00 pm game.