BOSTON, Mass. – In a hard-fought contest that came down to the final minutes, Mount Ida College defeated Emmanuel 74-68 on Tuesday night to earn their first Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball victory of the year.
Mount Ida improved to 3-6 overall and 1-2 against GNAC opponents, while the loss drops the Saints to 1-7 (0-3 GNAC).
Cam Walker (New Bedford, Mass.) led the Mustangs with 21 points and hit the game-winning jumper in the paint, which broke a 68-68 tie in the final minute and a half.
Walker and Everett Ramirez (Los Angeles, Calif.), who netted 19 points for the Mustangs, sank four free-throws down the stretch to seal the victory.
The two teams split their meetings last season, with both programs picking up a win on their home courts. On Tuesday, the matchup again proved to be a back-and-forth battle, featuring 8 lead changes and 8 ties.
The Saints jumped out to a quick 8-2 lead after a lay-up by Kyle Smith (Los Angeles, Calif.) and six early points from Brandon Jones (Windsor, Conn.). Just under five minutes into the game, Emmanuel built a double-figure lead at 15-4, after a pair of free throws from John Clay (Westport, Mass.) and a three-ball from Jones.
Rookie guard Jahari Wright (Austin, Texas) drained a three and senior Kenny Jean (Dorchester, Mass.) scored down low for Mount Ida to cut the Mustang deficit to 16-12. A rebound and the bucket in the paint by Jean made it a 22-19 game, and he gave the Mustangs their first lead of the night at 23-22 with 5:50 to go in the half.
Ramirez hit from long-range to put the Mustangs up, 28-26, before Philkwan Tate (Bloomfield, Conn.) tied the game up in the post at the two-minute mark. The two teams exchanged a free throw and a hoop at each end, before Ramirez drained another jumper from the right wing to give the Mustangs a 34-31 lead at halftime.
Ramirez led all scorers at the break with his ten first-half points. Jean added 9 points and 4 first-half boards for the Mustangs, and he would go on to have 11 points and five rebounds in the game.
Twenty-five of Mount Ida's 34 points were scored off the bench in the opening frame, while Emmanuel was paced by 9 points from Jones and 8 from Tate in the first twenty minutes.
Shortly out of the half, Mount Ida went on a 14-0 run over a four-minute span to surge out in front, 50-37. Everett scored five points and Walker netted four during the run, before Wright capped it with his third three of the game, dialing in at the 13:14 mark. He finished the game with 12 points and three steals.
Trailing by ten, 53-43 with eleven minutes to go, the Saints mounted an 8-2 run of their own, but the Mustangs would reclaim a double-digit lead with a 6-0 run of their own.
Wright dropped his fourth three-ball of the night for a 68-64 Mustang advantage, before Clay laid one in at the opposite end to bring the spread to 68-66 with 2:39 remaining.
After a minute of scoreless play, Clay stole the ball and found James Sullivan (Wethersfield, Conn.) free on the break to tie the game at 68 with 1:25 to play before Walker pulled down an offensive board and turned around for his game-winning jumper, which held up when the Mustangs got defensive stops on Emmanuel's next few possessions.
Walker led the Mustangs with seven rebounds and three steals, and was one of five players to dish out two assists.
Tate finished with the only double-double of the night, scoring 14 points off of 7 for 9 shooting, to go along with his team-high 11 rebounds. Smith chipped in with 11 points and 3 assists. Jones scored 9 points, going 3-4 from the floor and 2-2 from the line, while Clay and Sullivan added 8 points apiece for EC.
Both teams are now off for the remainder of the semester. Mount Ida plays again on January 7th, when the Mustangs host River University in a 7:30 PM start. Emmanuel will return to the court after the winter break, when the Saints take on Fisher College on January 5th. This game will be played at the Fectau-Leary School in Lynn, Mass. at 3:00 PM.