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MEN'S BASKETBALL FALLS IN TOURNEY CHAMPIONSHIP
In the championship game of the 25th Annual Harbor Invitational hosted by UMASS-Boston, the Mount Ida College men's basketball team fell to first time tournament participant Embry-Riddle University, 85-67, this Saturday at the Clark Athletic Center in South Boston, Massachusetts. The Mustangs drop their first loss of the season falling to 2-1 with their first Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) match-up coming up this Tuesday when the host Emmanuel College starting at 6:00 p.m.
After a three-point bucket by sophomore guard Joseph Cabral (Walpole, MA/Walpole), the Mustangs held a 10-9 advantage with 15:24 remaining in the opening half before Embry-Riddle rattled off 12 straight points over the next four minutes to give them a 21-10 lead with 11:20 to play in the stanza. Embry-Riddle senior forward Eric Lorenzi (Gainesville, FL), who scored a team-high 23 points with six rebounds, fueled the run netting eight points during the spurt to help the Eagles take the lead for good.
With 10:33 left to play in regulation, the Mustangs faced their largest deficit of the afternoon, trailing 69-42 but they never let up in the second half and were able to battle back to make things interesting down the stretch. After trailing by 27, Mount Ida regrouped and went on a 23-6 run to make it 74-65 with 4:21 to play. This was the first single digit deficit of the game since the 9:11 mark of the first half for Ida. Sophomore guard Keith Jones (Boston, MA/Cathedral) was superb during the run, netting 10 of his game-high 24 points during the six minute span.
After the Mustangs final charge, Embry-Riddle collected itself and responded closing out the game on an 11-2 run to seal the championship victory.
Jones led all scorers with 24 points to go along with four assists, four rebounds and two steals. Senior guard Darren Martinez (Dorchester, MA/Brookline) chipped in with a 14 point, six assist effort while sophomore forward Travis Hillery (Tyngsboro, MA/Central Catholic) collected 11 points and two steals and rebounds apiece. Cabral also finished in double figures, dropping 10 points in the game for Mount Ida.
For Emrby-Riddle, sophomore forward Ray Graham (DeLand, FL) scored 19 points and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds for a solid overall performance. Junior guard Glenn Dalcourt was productive off the bench netting 11 points in his 16 minutes of action while sophomore guard Blake Touchard (Los Angeles, CA) was an assist away from a double-double dropping 10 points to go along with nine assists, five rebounds, two steals and a block. For the second night in a row, junior forward David Butler provided a spark off the bench scoring 10 points and tying Graham for a game-high eight rebounds in the win.
Mustang sophomore Keith Jones (Boston, MA/Cathedral) was named to the 25th Annual Harbor Invitational All-Tournament Team. Senior guard Darren Martinez (Dorchester, MA/Brookline) was awarded the John "Bill" Shay Award for exemplary sportsmanship and competition.
