NEWTON, Mass. – Mount Ida College faced a tough test in their first Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball action of the year, as they welcomed in the preseason favorites Albertus Magnus and dropped an 89-64 decision to the Falcons on Tuesday evening at Mount Ida College Athletic Center.

The Mustangs (1-5, 0-1 GNAC) got 16 points from Cam Walker (New Bedford, Mass.) and a game-high 13 rebounds off the bench from Kenny Jean (Dorchester, Mass.), but ran into a Falcons team that shot 50% from the field (35-70) in running their undefeated start to 5-0.

Falcons junior Lemar Larsen (Waterbury, Conn.) was the high-scorer in the game, netting 23 points on 10-15 shooting. His classmate, Victor Ljuldjuraj (Bronx, N.Y.) turned in a double-double with eleven points and twelve rebounds, along with three blocks.

The Mustangs kept the game tight through the first twelve and a half minutes, sparked by the work of Everett Ramirez (Los Angeles, Calif.), who had half of his 14 points before the break.

Ramirez and Walker each hit twice from behind the three-point line in the game, where Mount Ida shot 45.5% as a team.

The Falcons, who outrebounded Mount Ida 48-38, used a 12-0 run to take a 40-25 lead with under four minutes left in the first half. Darius Watson (New Britain, Conn.), who had 18 points and seven rebounds in the game, was a big part of the charge that helped the visitors take a 49-31 lead into the half.

The Mustangs cut the lead to 14 points with over seven minutes left in the second half with the help of sophomore Michael Joseph (Windsor, Conn.), who came off the bench and scored six points on 3-for-3 shooting in the second half.

The Falcons, thanks to Larsen and Watson, quickly built their lead up over twenty points again with a 10-2 run.  

Treace Macklin (Brockton, Mass.) added 15 points for the Mustangs, while Walker had four steals, a block and two assists.

Freshman Jahari Wright (Austin, Texas) led the Mustangs with four assists and two steals.

For the Falcons, junior Eian Davis (Brooklyn, N.Y.) pitched in 14 points and a team-high five assists off the bench. He and Kyle Wiggins (Milford, Conn.) each had two thefts, with Wiggins adding nine points in 16 minutes thanks in large part to 2-4 shooting from downtown.

Mount Ida returns to non-conference action Thursday when they hit the road for a 7:00 pm date with Fitchburg State.

The Mustangs will stay within the GNAC and in the Boston area on Thursday night when they visit Emmanuel for a 7:00 pm contest.