Dec. 1, 2009

Box Score

NEWTON, Mass. - Sophomore guard Keith Jones (Boston, Mass.) went 6-10 from beyond the arc, netting a game high 33 points to lead the Mount Ida College men's basketball team to an 88-83 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) victory over visiting Emmanuel College in Newton, Mass. on Tuesday night. The Mustangs notched their first conference victory of the season and improve to 3-1 overall, while the Saints fall to 0-3 on the season, 0-1 in GNAC play.

The first half was a slow and sloppy one on both sides with the hosts holding a small four-point advantage (10-6) after a made three pointer by sophomore Joe Cabral (Walpole, Mass.) with 14:22 showing on the clock in the first half.

The visitors took over immediately building a six-point lead (22-16) with 8:48 remaining in the first, after a good lay-in by Saint sophomore Eric Spanbauer (Niagara Falls, N.Y.). The Mustangs went ice cold offensively while the visitors constructed a nine-point advantage to go up 28-19 after a lay-up by Emmanuel sophomore Nate Jackson (Middleboro, Mass.) at the 5:58 mark.

It got worse for Mount Ida who had serious problems rebounding against a very big Saints squad, giving the visitors 24 of their 43 points in the first half from the paint. Emmanuel eventually piled up a 13-point advantage after a Mike Jackson (New York, N.Y.) lay-up heading into the break with the visitors holding a 43-30 lead.

The start of the second half was controlled by the Saints, who eventually built a game-high 15 point lead at the 12:51 mark after a trifecta by freshman guard Xavier Everson (Rochester, N.Y.) to go up 59-44.

Immediately Everson's trey, the Mustangs produced a 15-2 run and pulled within one point of the Saints. An aerial attack from three-point land by Jones, Cabral, and sophomore Isiah Benjamin (Windsor, Conn.) led the comeback for Mount Ida during the run.

After the visitors answered with a three of their own by Jackson, the Mustangs tied it after two converted lay-ups by senior Darren Martinez (Dorchester, Mass.) making it 64-64 with 7:44 to go in the game.

It remained a neck and neck game for the next three minutes with each team trading consecutive trifectas and the Mustangs holding a small one-point edge after freshman John Figueroa (Hartford, Conn.) broke the fifth tie of the contest with a good free throw (71-70).

With an electric crowd and packed house behind them, the Mustangs reeled off a 5-0 run on a lay-up by Martinez and a three by Jones making it 76-70 in favor of the hosts with 3:31 to go in the game. The Saints would not go quietly, cutting the Mount Ida advantage to one for the third time in the past four minutes with 23 seconds to go (84-83). After a foul by the Saints, Jones came down and drained both free throws to extend the Mustang lead to three (86-88) with 12 seconds remaining. The visitors drove down the court and launched the game tying three that was back ironed. A Cabral lay-up with time expiring sealed an 88-83 victory for Mount Ida's first GNAC win of the season.

The Mustangs scored an astounding 58 points in the second half, making 75 percent of their shots from three point land (9-12) in the second stanza. Although the hosts were drastically outrebounded by the visitors (46-36), they never gave up with scrappy defense and an impressive display on offense.

Mount Ida saw every starter in double figures, led by Jones, with Martinez and Benjamin chipping in 10 points apiece and Martinez dishing out eight assists. Mustang sophomore Travis Hillery (Tyngsboro, Mass.) was solid, notching his first double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 caroms. Cabral also added 13 points going 3-4 from downtown and grabbing five rebounds.

The Saints were led by Everson, who had a team high 24 points and eight rebounds while Mike Jackson added 19 points and five assists. Nate Jackson enjoyed a double-double with 18 points and a team-high 11 rebounds on the night.

The Mustangs are back in action this Friday at the Eastern Nazarene Tournament in Cambridge, Massachusetts starting a 6:00 p.m. Emmanuel will travel to Waterville, Maine on Saturday night to compete in Colby College's Invitational Tournament. The Saints will take on Maine Maritime Academy on Saturday at 8pm.