STANDISH, Maine – In a difficult road test, Mount Ida's men's basketball team faded in the second half to fall 75-47 to Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) foe Saint Joseph's on Wednesday night at the Harold Alfond Center.
The Mustangs (4-9, 2-5 GNAC) will now prep for a home game Saturday against cross-town rivals Lasell, who the Mustangs battled into double overtime last weekend. This weekend's game tips at 1:00 pm at Mount Ida Athletic Center.
On Wednesday, the Mustangs got 10 points from Ethan Dujon (Warwick, R.I.), the only Mustang in double-figures, while Saint Joseph's (7-6, 6-0 GNAC) was led by junior Zach Blodgett (Glenburn, Maine), who recorded the first double-double of his career with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Both teams were off to a slow start, but a three-pointer from junior guard Everett Ramirez (Los Angeles, Calif.) lifted the Mustangs to an 11-10 edge 7:22 into the contest. The Monks quickly regained the lead two minutes later on a traditional three-point play, converted by senior guard Matthew Medeiros (Westport, Mass.), and the course of play remained relatively close until the hosts headed into intermission on the heels of a 10-run.
Ramirez would finish the game with eight rebounds, three assists, and two steals to go with five points, but the Mustangs shot just 33% from the field and took just nine fouls shots, hitting only three of them.
Starting the second stanza with a 40-27 cushion, Saint Joseph's received five unanswered points from Medeiros to stake an 18-point lead with 17:17 to go. Mount Ida countered in kind by posting a 9-1 surge - with four points from sophomore guard Michael Joseph (Windsor, Conn.) - over the subsequent four minutes to cut the deficit down to 46-36.
The comeback bid was cut short when Medeiros added another three-point play and the Royal Blue would go on to claim a 54-38 lead and kept their advantage at least 14 for the remainder of the game. The Monks' largest lead would be their last, as freshman Danny Fitzgerald (North Reading, Mass.) scored on a nice move in the paint with 17 seconds left to account for the 75-47 final.
For the Mustangs, Dujon had five caroms to go with his ten points, while Joseph chipped in with eight points, junior forward Treace Macklin (Brockton, Mass.) added seven points, and senior forward Kenny Jean (Dorchester, Mass.) pulled down a team-high nine rebounds with four points in the losing bid.
For the Monks, Medeiros and Simonds netted 16 points apiece, senior forward Nicholas Jobin (Westbrook, Maine) added 14 points, six boards and three assists, and freshman Andrew Ruffen (Salem, N.H.) came off the bench to contribute five points in 10 minutes on the court.
Overall, Saint Joseph's shot 49.1% (27-55) from the floor, 35.7% (10-28) from three-point distance and 73.3% (11-15) from the free throw line on the evening. Mount Ida 27.3% (6-22) from downtown in the loss.
The Mustangs held a slight 37-34 lead in rebounds while the Monks recorded a 28-14 advantage in points in the paint and outscored the visitors by a 15-7 margin on turnovers in the GNAC tilt.
Saint Joseph's also returns to GNAC action on Saturday, when they travel to Albertus Magnus College for a 3:00 PM start.