MOUNT IDA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Tuesday, January 2, 2018
Athletic Center, Newton, Mass.
FINAL: MOUNT IDA 92, NEW ENGLAND COLLEGE 82
NEWTON, Mass. -- Senior Joey DeFillippi (Bristol, Conn.) scored 22 points to lead four players in double figures as Mount Ida held off a furious second half rally to notch a 92-82 non-league college men's basketball victory over New England College Tuesday afternoon at the Athletic Center.
The host Mustangs (7-3) blistered the nets at a 60 percent clip (21-35) in the opening 20 minutes of play, as Mount Ida broke open a two-point game with a 19-1 run over an 8:34 stretch to build a 52-25 advantage at the break. That margin grew to 31 points (64-33) just 3:15 after intermission on a three-pointer by senior Errald Jordine (Stamford, Conn.) before the visiting Pilgrims (6-4) responded with 17 unanswered points in less than five minutes to close back to within 14 on a jumper by freshman Trevor Parker (Dorchester, Mass.). The Mustangs maintained a double-digit edge for the next 10 minutes before New England College crept back to within seven (85-78) on a conventional three-point play by freshman Calvin Cheek (Mattapan, Mass.) with 1:36 remaining in the contest, but a lay-in by senior Kevin Conner (Mansfield, Mass.) that was followed by three DeFillippi free throws in the final 26 seconds of action helped ice the hosts' triumph.
Jordine added 15 points and seven rebounds in the victory for Mount Ida, which claimed its sixth win in the last seven outings dating back to November 27th. Conner collected 11 points, four boards and a pair of steals for the Mustangs, who also received 11 points, seven assists, five steals and five caroms from senior Jayson Clark (Austin, Tex.). Sophomore Kevin Vanderhorst (Lawrence, Mass.) chipped in with eight points and seven rebounds for the hosts, who received eight points each and a combined eight boards from junior Dennis Ross (Portland, Maine) and freshman Kevin Nunez (Dorchester, Mass.) along with seven points from freshman Jonathan Friberg (North Attleboro, Mass.). Mount Ida shot 53 percent (32-61) from the field overall and held a 43-37 rebounding advantage to earn its sixth victory in seven all-time series meetings between the two schools.
Junior Ricky Leonard (Windsor, Conn.) led all scorers with a game-high 31 points (24 in the second half) and five rebounds in the setback for New England College, which received 16 points, eight boards, five assists and four steals from sophomore Izaiah Winston-Brooks (Roxbury, Mass.). Cheek chipped in with nine points, six steals and five caroms for the Pilgrims, who received eight points, six rebounds and three steals from freshman Kareem Octavien (Cambridge, Mass.). Junior Jason Jones (Roxbury, Mass.) added eight points for the visitors, who also received six points and five boards on the day from Parker. New England College shot 45 percent (31-69) from the floor overall, but the Pilgrims were 3-20 from behind the arc and were also outscored 23-17 at the charity stripe for the contest.
Mount Ida heads across town on Saturday afternoon to square off with Lasell in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference clash that tips-off at 3:00 p.m., while New England College hosts Thomas in a North Atlantic Conference match-up on Friday evening in Henniker, N.H. beginning at 7:30 p.m.