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LASERS SQUEAK BY SURGING MUSTANGS 73-70
With 2:46 remaining in the game, the Mount Ida College men's basketball team tied the score at 67-67 after trailing by 20 on a Dave Santos (Mattapan, MA/Ben Franklin Institute) lay-in against Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) rival Lasell College. The Mustangs unfortunately came up short in the end dropping a tough 73-70 loss to the surging Lasers for the second time this season. The hosts fall to 9-11 overall, 3-10 in the GNAC while the visitors improve to a conference leading 15-7, 12-3 in conference competition.
It was an ugly start for both squads scoring a combined nine points (6-3) in the first five minutes of the contest with the visitors holding the three point edge. It got worse for Mount Ida notching only nine points in the first 11:36 of the opening half trailing 20-9 after a trifecta by Laser junior Charles Horton (Worcester, MA/Burncoat/Quinsigamond CC).
The Mustangs had trouble finding a rhythm in their offensive possessions and struggled to hit key shots off Lasell turnovers. The visitors pulled ahead by 13 points (27-14) after senior Jose Guitian (Miami, FL/Miami Springs) converted a three point play off a foul by Santos.
Lasell kept the Mustangs in check for the remainder of the half and a jumper with six seconds to go by Laser freshman Javon Williams (Mattapan, MA/Cathedral) gave the visitors the 36-20 edge at the break.
It was a different story in the beginning of the second half for the Mustangs while Lasell pulled ahead by 19 after a Guitian lay-in up 52-33. The Laser advantage eventually hit a game high 20 after a lay-up by Williams leading 36-56 with 13 minutes to go.
Mount Ida battled hard to stay in the game cutting the visitor advantage to 10 (56-46) with 9:51 to go after a senior Gino Dipietro (Westbrook, ME/Westbrook) jumper. The hosts started to gain the momentum at this point after a huge three pointer by freshman Johrone Bunch (Meriden, CT/F.T. Maloney) slashing the lead to single digits for the first time since the 2:45 mark in the first half trailing 56-63 with 6:11 left on the clock.
An 8-0 run put the Mustangs within a deuce of the Lasers at 65-63 off a lay-in by Santos with 3:56 to go. After a Guitian bucket, the hosts came storming down the court cutting it to two off another Santos carom. Junior Darren Martinez (Mattapan, MA/Brookline) tied the score at 65-65 on two free throws immediately following.
Another Williams bucket pulled Lasell ahead by two (67-65) but Santos matched it with a lay-in of his own going coast-to-coast knotting the score up again at 67-67. The Mustangs pulled within one point, twice, before the end of the contest.
Mount Ida began to foul trying to regain possession and send Lasell to the charity stripe. Unfortunately for the Mustangs, the visitors hit all their free throws down the stretch squeezing out the victory. The Lasers eventually squeaked by with the 73-70 win.
Both squads struggled from the three point arc with the hosts going 2-13 (15%) and the usually red hot Lasers struggling dearly at 6-24 (25 %). Mount Ida turned the ball over only 16 times to Lasell's 17.
The Mustangs were led by Santos with 16 points and two rebounds while Bennett and Bunch added 10 points a piece, Bennett notching nine boards. Martinez was also stellar with nine points, three assists, and three steals.
Mount Ida did an outstanding job keeping Laser star player Guitian in check with only 19 points and a measly six boards. Williams also scored 19 with seven rebounds with two steals and two assists. Senior Junior Sanival (Miami, FL/Miami Springs) chipped in 11 points for the visitors.
The Mustangs will travel to Norwich University this coming Thursday for a make-up game due to inclement weather starting at 7:00 p.m.
