NEWTON, Mass. – After winning their first Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) playoff game in program history, fourth ranked Mount Ida College will now head to top seed Albertus Magnus College for a semifinal contest on Thursday night at 7:00 pm.
To reach the GNAC championship game, Mount Ida (17-9) will have to beat the Falcons at The Nest, something that they have never done in nine meetings, and something that no team has done this year, as Albertus (21-4) boasts a 13-0 mark at home this season.
Runners-up in last year's championship game, Albertus Magnus had won the previous four GNAC championships and have won six titles in their history, including the first ever GNAC men's basketball crown in 1996.
How They Got Here
The Mustangs clawed their way to their historic victory on Tuesday night, beating 5th seeded Saint Joseph's Maine 91-83 behind 18 points from junior captain Kevin Conner (Mansfield, Mass.).
Mount Ida, who is just one victory away from tying the program record for wins in a season, had five players score in double-figures and a 21-8 advantage in second chance points over the Monks while beating them for the third time this year.
Albertus had no issues with number eight seed Anna Maria, leading them 43-26 at halftime on their way to a 92-67 victory. Four starters were in double figures, including a game-high 22 points from Shaquille Mitchell (Linden, N.J.) and another double-double (16 points, 14 rebounds) out of Jaqhawn Walters (Hartford, Conn.). The Falcons led wire to wire and scored 29 points off of 18 Anna Maria turnovers.
Series History
The all-time series has been one-sided in favor of Albertus Magnus, with Mount Ida winning just twice in 19 meetings and the Falcons on a 13 game winning streak between the teams.
That streak was almost snapped in Newton on February 7th of this year, as the Mustangs took a 38-31 lead into the break, but Albertus Magnus came back to grab the lead in the final five minutes and earned an 86-80 victory. In the rematch in New Haven just four days ago, the home team wasting no time, leaping out to a 60-35 lead at halftime and pouring in 110 points in a 110-89 win over the Mustangs, led by 37 points from senior guard Grant Ellis (Newark, N.J.).
GNAC Tournament Schedule
Quarterfinals - Tuesday, February 21
Game 1: #1 Albertus Magnus 92, #8 Anna Maria 67
Game 2: #4 Mount Ida 91, #5 Saint Joseph's (ME) 83
Game 3: #3 Lasell 76, #6 Emmanuel 74
Game 4: #2 Johnson & Wales 83, #7 Suffolk 68
Semifinals - Thursday, February 23
Game 5: #1 Albertus Magnus vs #4 Mount Ida, 7 PM
Game 6: #2 Johnson & Wales vs #3 Lasell, 7 PM
Final - Saturday, February 25
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner
