Jan 16, 2010

MEN'S BASKETBALL CAPTURES HUGE COMEBACK WIN OVER RAMS

Mount Ida College men's basketball senior captain Darren Martinez (Dorchester, MA/Brookline) converted 17 of 22 free throws notching a game high 25 points with eight rebounds leading his team to an 80-74 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) victory over visiting Suffolk University Saturday afternoon in Newton, Massachusetts. The Mustangs improve to 9-4 overall, 4-1 in the GNAC good for a tie in third place with Emerson College in the conference standings. The Rams drop their third straight GNAC loss falling to 5-8 overall, 1-5 in the GNAC.

Mount Ida could not keep pace with Suffolk for the beginning of the contest watching the visitors' air it out from all over their offensive side of the court. The Rams built a commanding 25-9 advantage in the opening nine minutes of the contest capped off with a big 10-0 run sealed by sophomore Luke Barrett (Cincinnati, OH/St Thomas More (CT)) with two free throws.

The Mustangs battled hard and pulled within eight points on a lay-in by Martinez at the seven minute mark down 27-19. But the visitors were tough and kept the Mustang deficit around double digits for the remainder of the second half riding a momentum high up 41-29 at the break.

The Ram advantage was maintained for the opening six minutes of the second half up 10 points leading 48-38. At this point the Mustangs started to mount their comeback cutting the lead to a deuce (48-46) after two good free throws by Martinez.

It looked as if the visitors were running out of gas in their high tempo offense with the Mustangs continuing to put tons of pressure on the Rams defensively. Mount Ida eventually took their first lead of the day with 10:32 remaining in the contest after a successful lay-in by sophomore Isiah Benjamin (Windsor, CT/the Masters School) up 53-52.

For the next four minutes the game would knot three times with the Mustangs holding a small advantage from their opponents. Sophomore Joe Cabral (Walpole, MA/Walpole) buried a trifecta at the 4:21 mark to boost his teammates and give the hosts a 67-64 lead along with the momentum.

It was all but over at this point with Suffolk's confidence deflated while the Mustangs would not give in. Key free throw shooting and devastating defense was the key to victory for the Mustangs down the stretch capturing the 80-74 win. Martinez went 6-8 from the charity stripe in the final two and half minutes to seal the deal for his team.

Along with Martinez's solid performance, the Mustangs had four other players in double figures. Sophomore Travis Hillery (Tyngsboro, MA/Central Catholic) added 16 points with nine caroms while sophomore Keith Jones (Boston, MA/Cathedral) notched 13 points and four assists. Benjamin and Cabral combined for 21 points with Cabral adding eight boards.

Sophomore Mike Gibbons (Ringwood, NJ/Lakeland Regional) enjoyed a 20 point performance for the Rams along with three boards. Barrett and junior Allan Ray (Lynn, MA/St Mary's (Lynn)) chipped in 11 points apiece.

The Mustangs will travel to Norwich University this coming Monday for more GNAC action starting at 7:00 p.m. in another double header with the women's basketball team.



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