Posted: Nov 22, 2016
BROOKLINE, Mass. - Clinging to a one point lead at the half, Mount Ida College outscored Newbury College 44-33 in the second half to emerge with their first win of the year, an 86-75 victory over the Nighthawks in non-conference men's basketball action on Tuesday night at Pappas Gymnasium.
A 24 point outburst, including 13-for-14 from the free throw line, by junior guard Joey DeFillippi (Bristol, Conn.) helped the Mustangs improve to 1-3 on the season.
DeFillippi came into the night averaging nine free throws per game and improved on that mark after a 93% night from the line. Two other key Mustang guards, Ethan Dujon (Warwick, R.I.) and Errald Jordine (Stamford, Conn.), chipped in offensively with 16 and 15 points, respectively. DeFillippi also finsihed with a team-high eight rebounds.
For the Nighthawks, junior Juduan Langston (Roxbury, Mass.) matched DeFillippi's game-high 24 points, while shooting 10-of-15 from the field, but struggled from the line making just 4-of-10. Senior Ceejae Carter (Dorchester, Mass.) contributed 13 points and six rebounds, before fouling out after 38 minutes.
With the score tied at 11-11 in the opening minutes, the Nighthawks started a 9-0 run, with three Langston lay-ups and a Carter three, to lead 20-11.
Mount Ida cut the Nighthawks lead to six with five minutes remaining in the first, and then a Mustangs 9-0 run of their own, capped off by a DeFillippi basket and foul, gave the Mustangs a 36-33 advantage. The sides traded buckets in the final five minutes, ultimately resulting in Mount Ida leading 43-42 at the half.
Mount Ida cut the Nighthawks lead to six with five minutes remaining in the first, and then a Mustangs 9-0 run of their own, capped off by a DeFillippi basket and foul, gave the Mustangs a 36-33 advantage. The sides traded buckets in the final five minutes, ultimately resulting in Mount Ida leading 43-42 at the half.
Although the Nighthawks briefly held the lead in the second half at 49-46, the Mustangs would answer the Newbury run every time in the second, including a 9-1 run that gave the Mustangs a 55-50 advantage with 12 minutes remaining.
From that point, the Nighthawks could only get as close as three but a 16-6 scoring burst by the Mustangs would give them a 12 point edge, 72-60.
The Nighthawks got back to within five at 76-71 with just under three minutes remaining, but the Mustangs finished the game going 8-for-12 from the foul line from that point to put the game away for the Mustangs.
In total, the Mustangs shot 76.7% from the line (23-for-30), while the Nighthawks did not fair as well, shooting just 60.7% (17-for-28).
Mount Ida also held a substantial advantage from three, outscoring the Nighthawks by 15 from beyond the arc; the Mustangs shot 9-of-26, the Nighthawks just 4-of-23.
The Nighthwaks take eight days off for the Thanksgiving Break and now sit at 0-4 on the season. They will continue to search for their first victory of the season when they take the floor next Thursday, Dec. 1 in the opening game of conference play against Lesley University; tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.
The Mustangs open Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play on Saturday, November 29th when they travel to Boston for a 5:30 pm game against Emmanuel.