NEWTON, Mass. – Mount Ida College picked up right where they left off before the winter break and extended their winning streak to five games with a 75-61 win over Johnson & Wales University in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball action on Thursday night at Mount Ida Athletic Center.
The win was just the fifth all-time for the Mustangs against the Wildcats, who won the GNAC and advanced to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen a year ago, and it was the first since a 59-57 victory in Providence in 2013. It is just the second win in the series in Newton, and the first since the 2011 campaign.
Joey DeFillippi (Bristol, Conn.) and Jayson Clark (Austin, Texas) scored 15 points apiece for the Mustangs, who shot 40.6% from the floor and made 18 of 25 free throws.
Senior Anthony Jernigan (East Hartford, Conn.) carried the Wildcats scoring 23 points and grabbing ten rebounds, while also dishing out a game-high seven assists.
Mount Ida (7-4, 3-1 GNAC) led 35-31 at the break as they raced out to an 18-9 lead and led by as many as 12 points in the first half but saw the Wildcats close the period on an 11-4 run.
An Elijah Lewis (Bridgeport, Conn.) layup cut the deficit to just two points for the visitors to start the second half, but Mount Ida scored 15 of the next 19 points and led by double-digits for most of the final twenty minutes. Outside of the opening layup of the game by Jernigan, the Mustangs never trailed in the contest.
Mustang junior Errald Jordine (Stamford, Conn.) just missed a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds, and also added three steals. DeFillippi had two dimes, two stelas and a block, while Clark led the Mustangs with four assists.
In his first action of the year, Harry Alexander (Washington, D.C.) went 3-3 from the field and contributed eight points and five rebounds off the bench in Mount Ida's win.
Matt Madoian (North Kingstown, R.I.) scored 15 points for the Wildcats and had seven rebounds, while Edson Dascy (Fall River, Mass.) scored ten points, grabbed seven boards and had three blocks, three steals and two assists.
The Mustangs will look to pick up another GNAC victory at home on Saturday with a 1:00 pm tip-off against visiting Suffolk.
Johnson & Wales (2-8, 2-2 GNAC) returns home to host conference foe Norwich at the same time.