MEN'S BASKETBALL NOTCHES FIRST VICTORY OVER NAZ

Mount Ida College sophomore Keith Jones (Boston, MA/Cathedral) tallied a game high 20 points going 10-10 from the free throw line en route to an 82-71 non-conference victory over visiting Eastern Nazarene College Thursday night for the hosts' first victory in their season and home opener.  The Mustangs improve to 1-0 and have yet to play a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) while the Lions drop their second straight against a GNAC opponenT, losing to Suffolk University over the weekend, now standing at 0-2. 

Mount Ida trailed one time the entire contest in the first three minutes (16:50) of the game down 4-2 after a good jumper by Lion freshman Aaron Johnson (Boston, MA/Boston Trinity Academy).  The Mustangs countered with an 8-0 run taking the 11-4 advantage with 14:34 to go in the first half. 

After the visitors pulled within two points (13-11) on a good trifecta by Eastern Nazarene freshman Keith Branch (Boston, MA/Charlestown), the Mustangs inflated their lead to 10 points after a 9-1 run, capped off on two free throws by Jones, up 22-12 at the 10 minute mark.

The Mustangs maintained their advantage with a high powered and fast paced style of play that stifled their opponent for the remainder of the first half.  The hosts kept their lead between a seven to 10 point margin for the remainder of the stanza pulling ahead by a game high 11 points twice in the final two minutes on two lay-ups from sophomore's Joe Cabral (Walpole, MA/Walpole) and Isiah Benjamin (Windsor, CT/The Masters School).  The Mustangs carried a seven point advantage, up 42-35, in to the break.

After the visitors cut the lead to five points (42-37) on two good free throw shots by junior Jonathan Georges (Randolph, MA/Randolph) to start the second half, Mount Ida rallied to pull ahead by a game high 21 points after a good three pointer by Jones at the 12:32 mark.  The Mustangs held onto the double digit lead for the remainder of the contest with no answer from their opponents.  Mount Ida eventually cruised to the 82-71 victory, good for their first of the season. 

The Mustangs tired out their opponent with a very up tempo style on both the offensive and defensive sides of the floor along with a devastating press that smothered the opposition the entire night creating 27 turnovers. 

Along with Jones, the Mustangs saw three other players in double digits for the night.  Benjamin added 16 with a game high six steals.  Mount Ida standout freshman guard Jonathan Figueroa (Hartford, CT/Howell Cheney Tech.) notched 14 points with five boards.  Sophomore forward Travis Hillery (Tyngsboro, MA/Central Catholic) added 10 points with eight rebounds while Cabral countered with seven points and 11 caroms.

The Lions were led by sophomore Michael McCoy (Altomante Springs, FL/Spruce Creek) with a team high 18 points and seven boards.  Georges and Branch combined for 32 points with Georges chipping in a team high nine boards.

The Mustangs will participate in the UMASS-Boston Tournament the weekend following Thanksgiving starting on Friday, November 27, 2009.