PROVIDENCE, RI – Mount Ida College opened with an 18-2 run to seize control of their Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball contest against Johnson & Wales on Saturday afternoon, but the Wildcats came all the way back and defeated the Mustangs 80-75 for their seventh consecutive win.
Anthony Jernigan hit a jumper with one minute remaining to break a 72-72 tie and drained four free throws down the stretch to seal the victory for the Wildcats, who had come back to grab an eight point lead at halftime.
Mount Ida drops to 12-7 (8-4 GNAC), while Johnson & Wales improves to 9-8 overall and 9-2 GNAC, as the teams split the season series.
Ethan Dujon (Warwick, R.I.) led the Mustangs with 24 points. Jernigan had 33 points for JWU, and Jarell Lawson added 18 points and nine rebounds.
The Mustangs couldn't miss in the opening nine minutes, taking a 26-9 lead on a Brendan Cunningham (Quincy, Mass.) three pointer. Johnson & Wales went on a 25-5 run to claim a 34-31 advantage after three-straight Jarell Lawson (Providence, RI) three pointers. Jernigan (East Hartford, Conn.) raced down the court and hit a layup at the buzzer to send JWU into the locker room up 40-32.
Jernigan made a three pointer at the 5:48 mark of the second half to give JWU its largest lead, 70-61. After another Jernigan layup a minute later, the Mustangs would hold the Wildcats scoreless for three minutes. Dujon capped a 9-0 run to knot the game at 72 before Jernigan broke the tie.
Mount Ida had a pair of players in double figures. Dujon was tops at 24 points while Errald Jordine chipped in 10 and five rebounds. The Mustangs shot 50.9 percent (28-55) from the floor and had a 38-32 advantage for points in the paint.
For the fourth time in six games, Jernigan eclipsed 30 points as he scored a career-high 33. The senior point guard was 13-of-14 from the line. Lawson was next with 18 points and added a game-high nine rebounds to just miss a double-double. Elijah Lewis (Bridgeport, Conn.) came off the bench to score 12 points and added five rebounds and four steals.
Johnson & Wales scored 23 points off 18 MIC turnovers. The Wildcats were 27-56 (48.2 percent) from the floor and 20-25 (80 percent) at the free throw line.
The Mustangs go back on the road on February 1st with a 7:00 pm game at Norwich, and the Wildcats also go on the road at the same time to take on first-place Albertus Magnus.