 |  |
MEN'S BASKETBALL PRESS CONFERENCE HELD MONDAY
Written by:
Matthew Bonomolo
Mount Ida Sports Information Coorespondent
SM105 Student
"This is the biggest game of my career" is what sophomore forward Joe Cabral (Walpole, MA/Walpole) and senior point guard Darren Martinez (Dorchester, MA/Brookline) said in Monday's press conference as the Mount Ida men's basketball team prepares for their quarterfinal game tomorrow against visiting Johnson & Wales University. The fourth seeded Mustangs will host their first ever Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tournament home game since the Mustangs joined the conference just three years ago. This contest is featuring two prolific scorers, Wildcat sophomore point guard Lamonte Thomas (Providence, RI/the Met School) who is leading the GNAC in scoring averaging 22.9 PPG. He is also the fourth leading scoring in the nation, while Mount Ida sophomore shooting guard Keith Jones (Boston, MA/Cathedral) comes into the contest averaging 19.6 PPG and is leading the GNAC in three pointers made. Look for both of these players be key assets to lead their team to victory.
"It could be my last game or we could be making history," Martinez said. Mount Ida is looking to do just that and advance to their first GNAC semifinal game in school history. If Mount Ida is going to complete this task they are going to need to play great basketball. "40 minutes" Martinez said, "it's going to take the full 40 minutes of basketball to beat this team."
Mount Ida comes into tomorrow's game with a two game losing streak. Dropping a heartbreaker to rival Lasell (85-78, OT) in overtime and losing to the Monks of St. Joseph's College (ME) this past weekend (81-63). Mount Ida will look to Jones, Martinez and sophomore Isiah Benjamin (Windsor, CT/the Masters School) to be key factors in the offensive game plan in tomorrow's contest. First year Assistant Coach Peter Stathakis said to "look for freshman guard John Figueroa (Hartford, CT/Howell Cheney Tech.) to play a key factor as well". Figueroa, who scored 13 points in 16 minutes against Lasell, is going to be a crucial piece for the Mount Ida bench.
Aside from Thomas and his offense, Johnson & Wales has one of the best big men in the conference. 6'8, senior center Paul Nicholson (Halifax, NC/Weldon) is a force on defense. Nicholson is averaging close to three blocks per game and will alter the shot selection making it extremely difficult in the paint for the opposition. Look for Nicholson to also be a key player on offense against a smaller Mount Ida front court.
Thomas is going to have his hands full tomorrow as the Mustangs will be keying in on him all game. "We can't let Thomas beat us, we need to stop him and force the other players to beat the team," said coach Stathakis. The Mustangs will look to Martinez to defend one of the nation's top players.
The Mustangs and Wildcats have split their contests this year with both teams winning on the opposition's home court.
"I feel very confident with our game plan and hope we can execute to give ourselves a chance to win," said Stathakis. "It is all going to come down to who can win the mini battles going into tomorrow."
The festivities will start with a 7:00 p.m. tip-off at the Mount Ida Athletic Center in Newton, Massachusetts.
