MOUNT IDA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Tuesday, December 5, 2017
Athletic Center, Newton, Mass.
FINAL: MOUNT IDA 115, NEWBURY 108
NEWTON, Mass. -- Senior John Oliver (North Babylon, N.Y.) scored a career-high 32 points, including eight three-pointers and an 11-of-15 shooting effort from the field overall, as Mount Ida tied the school single game record with 15 treys en route to a 115-108 non-league college men's basketball victory over Newbury Tuesday evening at the Athletic Center.
A wild contest that saw the teams combine for 29 three-pointers and 52 free throws saw the host Mustangs (5-2) storm back from an early 10-point deficit to grab a three-point advantage (56-53) at the break after Oliver scored the final eight points of the half in a 92-second span. The visiting Nighthawks (1-4) evened matters in the opening 29 seconds after intermission on a conventional three-point play by senior Jeduan Langston (Roxbury, Mass.), but Mount Ida scored 17 of the game's next 24 points in just over five minutes of action to take a 73-63 lead on a pair of free throws from sophomore Kevin Vanderhorst (Lawrence, Mass.) with 14:20 remaining in the game.
Newbury whittled its deficit to five with 10:21 to play on a Langston jumper, but the hosts quickly regained a 10-point lead on a three-pointer by senior Brendan Cunningham (Quincy, Mass.) with 8:58 remaining. Senior Daivon Edwards' (Roxbury, Mass.) trey 51 seconds later again cut the Nighthawks' deficit to five, but the Mustangs built a trio of 10-point leads in a three-minute span, the last coming on a pair of free throws by senior Jacob Sartain (West Palm Beach, Fla.), for a 99-89 edge with 5:21 to play. The visitors made a final run in the closing seconds of the contest on freshman Miguel Rivera's (Waterbury, Conn.) lay-in with 13 ticks remaining, but three free throws by Vanderhorst and senior Joey DeFillippi (Waterbury, Conn.) in the final eight seconds iced the Mustangs' fourth straight triumph.
Oliver's scoring output was the third highest single game total in school history last accomplished by Josh Didick in 2004, and his eight three-pointers made was just one off the school mark of nine that was set by Didick against Johnson State during that same campaign. Senior Errald Jordine (Stamford, Conn.) added 14 points and four rebounds in the win for Mount Ida, which received 13 points from junior Dennis Ross (Portland, Maine) as well as a double-double effort of 12 points and 10 boards from freshman Jonathan Friberg (North Attleboro, Mass.). Vanderhorst rounded out the quartet of Mustangs in double figures with 10 points, eight rebounds and five assists on the evening, while DeFillippi added eight points, seven assists and six rebounds. Freshman Kevin Nunez (Dorchester, Mass.) chipped in with eight points for the hosts, who received six points from Sartain as well as six rebounds from senior Kevin Conner (Mansfield, Mass.). Senior Jayson Clark (Austin, Tex.) added six points, eight assists, five rebounds and three steals for the winners, who shot 46 percent from the floor overall and recorded 26 assists on 37 field goals. Mount Ida held a 52-31 rebounding advantage overall (21-5 on the offensive glass alone) and converted 24 second chance points on the night in posting their sixth victory in as many series meetings with the Nighthawks.
Langston led all scorers with a game-high 34 points, eight rebounds and two steals in the setback for Newbury, which received 30 points, seven assists, five boards and a pair of steals from Rivera. Edwards added 29 points, including seven three-pointers and a perfect 8-of-8 effort at the foul line, to go with four caroms, three steals and a pair of assists for the visitors, who also received eight boards, six rebounds and two steals from senior Ato Botsio (Canton, Mass.). The Nighthawks shot 50 percent (34-68) and connected for 14 from behind the arc for the evening, as each team scored 26 points at the charity stripe.
Mount Ida heads to Worcester, Mass. on Thursday evening to take on Worcester State in a non-league outing that tips-off at 7:00 p.m., while Newbury travels to Waltham, Mass. to square off with Brandeis in a non-league match-up on Thursday evening that begins at 6:00 p.m.