80 FOOT BUZZER BEATER NETS SIXTH MEN'S BASKETBALL WIN, Sophomore Bruce Cary Hits 80 Footer at the Buzzer for the Win

The Mount Ida College Men’s Basketball team grabbed its third Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) win, their first on the road of the season, over Rivier College this past Saturday. Mount Ida improved to 3-10 in the GNAC and 6-14 overall as Rivier fell to 7-5 in the conference and 10-9 overall.

The first half of the contest was controlled by the on target shooting and defense by the Mustangs. Michael Dunham (Salem, NH/Salem) led the offense with all of his 11 points in the first stanza in which nine came off of three pointers. MIC shot 50% from the field and held the Raiders to just 30 points on 40% shooting. Despite the hot hands from the field, Mount Ida was unable to capitalize on their free throw attempts only making 2-11 attempts in the first. At the end of the half the Mustangs held onto a six point lead heading into the locker room with the score 36-30.

The second set began much like the first with MIC taking charge and building a lead. It was a solid performance from Matt Bennett (Rochester, NH/Spaulding) who dropped 17 points overall and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Mustangs in both categories. Halfway through the second half the visitors built a nine point lead over the Raiders. However the hosts kept fighting to keep the game within reach. Jeff Carpenter tallied a double-double with game highs of 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Raiders.

The final 30 seconds of the game would be filled with drama. After falling behind by three, the Raiders would tie the game on the first of two free throws with less than a second left on the clock. The Raiders missed the second attempt and Bennett grabbed the game’s biggest rebound as the Mustangs called timeout with eight tenths of a second remaining. The Mustangs in-bounded the ball to Bruce Cary (Standish, ME/Bonny Eagle) who launched a shot from 80 feet away and drained it to give the Mount Ida a 58-55 win.

MIC also received a good performance from Otis Thompson (Gardner, MA/Gardner) who had eight points to go along with seven rebounds.Darren Martinez (Stoughton, MA/Brookline) pitched in with six points, three rebounds, and three assists.

The Mustangs return home to face Emerson College on Tuesday, February 12 at 6:00pm.