NEW LONDON, Conn. – Mitchell College never trailed in the second half and pulled away late in a 95-74 victory over Eastern Nazarene College on Monday night in a non-conference men's basketball contest at the Yarnall Athletic Center.
Mitchell (10-8 overall) won its fifth straight game and improved to 6-1 in the month of January. Jalen Benson led the way with a career-high 29 points on 11-for-15 shooting and hit five three-pointers. He also added five rebounds and five assists.
Three other Mariners scored in double digits on the night. Alfonzo Stokes notched a double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds and also handed out six assists. Wilton Causey and Ahmani Browne came off the bench to chip in 13 and 12 points, respectively. Mikey Buscetto, after dishing out 20 assists in his last time out, finished with a game-high 13 helpers to go with nine points.
Bernie McGuinness paced the Lions (8-9 overall) with 17 points. Levi Grady-White recorded a double-double of 14 points and 11 boards and blocked four shots, and Nick Manso came off the bench to supply 12 points.
ENC opened with an 11-2 run and forced Mitchell to take a 30-second timeout less than four minutes into the game. The Mariners responded with a 10-3 spurt, cutting the deficit to two following a layup by Causey with 13:51 remaining in the half.
After the Lions extended the margin to 20-12, Mitchell once again reeled them in quickly. A three-pointer by Hunter Baillargeon tied the game at 22-22 with 9:11 left to play, and 30 seconds later Stokes gave the Mariners their first lead with a jumper.
In the final 2:04 of the half, a pair of three-pointers from Benson and another by Buscetto gave Mitchell a seven-point lead. The Lions countered with a bucket by Manso on their final possession of the half, leaving the Mariners with a 43-38 lead at the break.
ENC scored the first five points of the second half to tie the game at 43-43. Mitchell fired back with a 7-0 stretch and led the rest of the way.
The Mariners extended the margin to double digits on a layup by Buscetto with 11:31 to go. Over the next four minutes, Benson and Stokes took turns scoring as the lead extended to 17. Mitchell led by as many as 24 down the stretch, with the highlight of the game coming on an alley-oop from Buscetto to Causey in the final minutes.
Monday's game was the first of three regular season meetings between the Mariners and Lions. Unlike the final two games, it does not count toward the New England Collegiate Conference standings.
Mitchell will open NECC play at Lesley University on Wednesday, February 2 at 7 p.m.