Dec 6, 2009

MEN'S HOOPS CAPTURES ENC TOURNEY CHAMPIONSHIP

The Mount Ida College men's basketball team captured the Eastern Nazarene Classic Tournament Championship this weekend with two straight victories in the opening round against New England College winning 81-71 and then claiming victory in the championship with a 102-88 win over Mitchell College. The Mustangs improve to an impressive 5-1 to start the 2009-2010 season and remain at 1-0 in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) with a key GNAC match-up coming against Emerson College this Tuesday in Newton, Massachusetts.

In the opening round against the Pilgrims Friday night, Mount Ida sophomore Keith Jones (Boston, MA/Cathedral) led the Mustangs and all scorers with 19 points on 4 for 11 shooting, three of eight from behind the arc.

In a tightly played first ten minutes, the Mustangs gradually took control of the game creeping ahead to a twelve point lead with 2:45 left in the half. They would have entered the half with a fifteen point lead if not for the Pilgrims Andrew MacDonald's (Hanson, Mass.) three pointer at the buzzer to draw the margin back to twelve, 43-31.

The Mustangs continued to inch ahead in the second half until they led by nineteen before the Pilgrims journeyed back into the game to pull within eight, 65-57, capped by Nick Hoffman's (Thetford, VT) two free throws with 6:35 left on the clock. Five minutes later New England's Andrew MacDonald (Hanson, Mass.) connected with a three-pointer to reduce the lead to five, 71-66, with 1:40 remaining. And down by eight again, MacDonald buried another three to keep the game close but the comeback faded as the Mustangs hit their free throws, finishing with the nine point, 81-71, win.

The Mustangs shot a hot 49 percent from the field and 73 percent from the free throw line to earn the ten point victory.

Mount Ida's Jones led all scorers and teammates Isiah Benjamin (Windsor, CT/the Masters School) and Travis Hillery (Tyngsboro, MA/Central Catholic) followed with 14 points each.

New England College's Joe Faragher (No. Ridgeville, OH) led the Pilgrims with 16 points while Shane Hennessey (Plymouth, UK) scored a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Mount Ida would continue on to the championship game against Mitchell College Saturday while the Pilgrims headed to the consolation round.

A hot shooting hand led the Mustangs over the Mariners capturing the 2009 Eastern Nazarene College Classic Championship title, 102-80, at the Lahue PE Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The Mustangs shot 59 percent from the field and 47 percent from three-point range, as Hillery and Benjamin led the victors with 17 points each. Hillery also pulled down 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.

In a tight game through most of the second half, a Johrone Bunch (Meriden, CT/F.T. Maloney) three-pointer with 7:00 remaining began to separate the two teams, as the lead extended to 15 at 84-69. The Mustangs then rolled off a 14-5 run over the next three minutes and took a commanding lead, 98-74, never to look back.

Mitchell kept the game within reach through the eighth minute of the second half, going 12-for-12 free throw to start the game. However, the Mariners fell off target and finished 19-for-27, good for 70 percent on the night.

From the tip-off, the Mustangs took the lead and stretched it to double digits, 20-9, after seven minutes had gone by. The Mariners managed to cut the lead to seven, 28-21, on an Eric Murray "and-one" three-point play but did not make any more headway through the first half. The Mustangs pushed the lead to 16 at 50-34 with multiple three-point conversions and went into the halftime break leading 50-36.

Mount Ida placed six players in double-digits with Benjamin and Hillery leading the way. Bunch and Darren Martinez (Dorchester, MA/Brookline) were right behind the leaders with 16 points.

Mitchell senior Mike DePaolo led all scorers with 24 points. Murray finished with a double-double, scoring 18 points and pulling down 11 rebounds.

The Mustangs will host their second GNAC match-up of the season against visiting Emerson College this Tuesday night starting at 6:00 p.m. The Lions beat the Mustangs last season in a heartbreaking buzzer beating three-pointer by Emerson guard Jeremy Shannon at the end of regulation around the same date last year. Mount Ida will look to erase that memory this Tuesday.



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The Mustangs improve to an impressive 5-1 to start the 2009-2010 season and remain at 1-0 in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) with a key GNAC match-up coming against Emerson College this Tuesday in Newton, Massachusetts. In the opening round against the Pilgrims Friday night, Mount Ida sophomore Keith Jones (Boston, MA/Cathedral) led the Mustangs and all scorers with 19 points on 4 for 11 shooting, three of eight from behind the arc. In a tightly played first ten minutes, the Mustangs gradually took control of the game creeping ahead to a twelve point lead with 2:45 left in the half. They would have entered the half with a fifteen point lead if not for the Pilgrims Andrew MacDonald's (Hanson, Mass.) three pointer at the buzzer to draw the margin back to twelve, 43-31. The Mustangs continued to inch ahead in the second half until they led by nineteen before the Pilgrims journeyed back into the game to pull within eight, 65-57, capped by Nick Hoffman's (Thetford, VT) two free throws with 6:35 left on the clock. Five minutes later New England's Andrew MacDonald (Hanson, Mass.) connected with a three-pointer to reduce the lead to five, 71-66, with 1:40 remaining. And down by eight again, MacDonald buried another three to keep the game close but the comeback faded as the Mustangs hit their free throws, finishing with the nine point, 81-71, win. The Mustangs shot a hot 49 percent from the field and 73 percent from the free throw line to earn the ten point victory. Mount Ida's Jones led all scorers and teammates Isiah Benjamin (Windsor, CT/the Masters School) and Travis Hillery (Tyngsboro, MA/Central Catholic) followed with 14 points each. New England College's Joe Faragher (No. Ridgeville, OH) led the Pilgrims with 16 points while Shane Hennessey (Plymouth, UK) scored a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Mount Ida would continue on to the championship game against Mitchell College Saturday while the Pilgrims headed to the consolation round. A hot shooting hand led the Mustangs over the Mariners capturing the 2009 Eastern Nazarene College Classic Championship title, 102-80, at the Lahue PE Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Mustangs shot 59 percent from the field and 47 percent from three-point range, as Hillery and Benjamin led the victors with 17 points each. Hillery also pulled down 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. In a tight game through most of the second half, a Johrone Bunch (Meriden, CT/F.T. Maloney) three-pointer with 7:00 remaining began to separate the two teams, as the lead extended to 15 at 84-69. The Mustangs then rolled off a 14-5 run over the next three minutes and took a commanding lead, 98-74, never to look back. Mitchell kept the game within reach through the eighth minute of the second half, going 12-for-12 free throw to start the game. However, the Mariners fell off target and finished 19-for-27, good for 70 percent on the night. From the tip-off, the Mustangs took the lead and stretched it to double digits, 20-9, after seven minutes had gone by. The Mariners managed to cut the lead to seven, 28-21, on an Eric Murray "and-one" three-point play but did not make any more headway through the first half. The Mustangs pushed the lead to 16 at 50-34 with multiple three-point conversions and went into the halftime break leading 50-36. Mount Ida placed six players in double-digits with Benjamin and Hillery leading the way. Bunch and Darren Martinez (Dorchester, MA/Brookline) were right behind the leaders with 16 points. Mitchell senior Mike DePaolo led all scorers with 24 points. Murray finished with a double-double, scoring 18 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. The Mustangs will host their second GNAC match-up of the season against visiting Emerson College this Tuesday night starting at 6:00 p.m. The Lions beat the Mustangs last season in a heartbreaking buzzer beating three-pointer by Emerson guard Jeremy Shannon at the end of regulation around the same date last year. Mount Ida will look to erase that memory this Tuesday.