MOUNT IDA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, December 2, 2017
Andy Yosinoff Court, Boston, Mass.
FINAL: MOUNT IDA 103, EMMANUEL 99 (OVERTIME)
BOSTON, Mass. -- Senior Errald Jordine (Stamford, Conn.) notched a double-double effort of 24 points and 10 rebounds, while fellow senior Joey DeFillippi (Bristol, Conn.) added 22 points that included the 1,000th of his career to lead Mount Ida to a 103-99 victory over Emmanuel in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference men's basketball opener for both teams Saturday afternoon on Andy Yosinoff Court.
A contest that featured 17 lead changes and 15 ties saw the visiting Mustangs (4-2, 1-0 GNAC) overcome a six-point deficit by scoring 24 points in the final 6:54 of the opening half to grab a 53-51 advantage at the break on senior Jayson Clark's (Austin, Tex.) late lay-up, and Mount Ida built a pair of five point leads in the opening minutes after intermission, the last coming on Clark's jumper (64-59) with 12:49 to play in regulation. The host Saints (1-5, 0-1 GNAC) responded with 11 unanswered points over a 2:20 stretch to take a six-point edge (70-64) on freshman Marcus Fox's lay-in with 10:29 remaining, but the visitors scored seven of the game's next eight points to regain a one-point lead (72-71) on a pair of DeFillippi free throws just over two minutes later.
After forging the 10th tie of the day, Emmanuel used a 10-2 spurt over a 2:25 span to take their largest lead of the half (82-74) on sophomore Emmett Riddick's (Middletown, Conn.) jumper, but Mount Ida again answered with a 10-1 run of its own to grab an 84-83 advantage on Jordine's lay-up with 3:09 to play. The Saints overcame that deficit to take a 91-87 edge with just over a minute remaining in regulation on Riddick's three-pointer, but the Mustangs battled back to force the extra session on a lay-in by sophomore Kevin Vanderhorst (Lawrence, Mass.) on the ensuing possession and Clark's game-tying lay-up with 28 seconds left, as a potential game-winning jumper by the hosts at the buzzer fell short.
The teams traded the first four points of overtime before Emmanuel took its final advantage of the contest on Riddick's lay-in with 1:38 remaining, but a pair of free throws by Clark just 19 seconds later gave Mount Ida the lead for good at 100-99. DeFillippi's lay-in with 29 seconds extended the Mustang edge to three before the Saints missed a pair of potential game-tying three-pointers, as Clark iced the visitors' triumph with a final free throw that came with one second on the clock.
Jordine connected on nine of his 15 shots from the floor in the win for Mount Ida, as DeFillippi became the 11th player in school history to eclipse the 1,000 career point plateau on a three-pointer that came with 2:36 remaining in the overtime period. DeFillippi added five steals, four rebounds and a pair of assists on the day for the Mustangs, who received 14 points and nine rebounds from Vanderhorst. Clark also scored 14 points while recording seven assists and six steals for the visitors, as junior Dennis Ross (Portland, Maine) was the fifth player in double figures with 10 points and seven boards for the victors. Mount Ida shot 39 percent (32-81) from the field and canned eight three-pointers (four by DeFillippi) for the contest, as the Mustangs shot 84 percent (31-37) at the foul line and held a 49-40 rebounding advantage on the day that included 31 points off turnovers and 21 second chance points.
Riddick scored a game-high 30 points, grabbed five rebounds, dished out three assists and recorded a pair of steals in the setback for Emmanuel, which received 24 points (including four three-pointers), six boards, six assists and two steals from junior Joe Tamburro (South Windsor, Conn.). Fox chipped in with 13 points and seven boards for the Saints, who received 10 points from freshman Zachary Crisafulli (Hatfield, Mass.). Junior Isaiah Ruffen (Haverhill, Mass.) added nine points and eight caroms for the hosts, who shot 51 percent (34-67) from the field and also connected for eight three-pointers for the contest.
Mount Ida hosts Newbury in a non-league outing on Tuesday afternoon at the Athletic Center that tips-off at 5:00 p.m., while Emmanuel hosts MIT in a non-league clash on Tuesday evening on Andy Yosinoff Court beginning at 7:00 p.m.