Newton, Massachusetts – With seven seconds remaining in the contest, Mount Ida College men's basketball junior captain Isiah Benjamin (Windsor, CT/The Masters School) drained two pressure free throws tying the score at 75-75. But with one second remaining, visiting Rivier College senior Nick Bean (East Longmeadow, MA/East Longmeadow) buried a trifecta handing the Mustangs a 78-75 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) loss Tuesday evening in Newton, Massachusetts. Mount Ida falls to an overall record of 4-7 and drop to 1-3 in conference play while the visitors continue to progress notching their third consecutive win and their second straight GNAC victory improving to 7-3 going 2-1 in the GNAC.
The visitors jumped out to a 5-0 lead to open the game following a successful lay-in by Raider freshman Tom Poitras (Bow, NH/Bow). The Mustangs came right back powering a 9-1 run of their own to pull ahead 9-6 after a lay-in by junior transfer David Gibbs (East Hartford, CT/UMASS-Amherst) with 14:23 to go in the first half.
The score went back and forth for the next five minutes with no more than four points separating the squads. Mount Ida held the small margin during the stretch leading 20-16 after two successful attempts from the charity stripe by junior captain Travis Hillery (Tyngsboro, MA/Central Catholic with just under 10 minutes remaining before the break.
Rivier eventually knotted the score for the third time in the first stanza at 20-20 with 7:30 to go after a successful lay-in by freshman guard Jake Nelson (Nashua, NH/Nashua South). The Mustangs followed with an impressive 10-0 run led by junior Nick Lynch (Hampton Bays, NY/Hampton Bays) who notched seven of the 10 points recorded.
The visitors didn't back off and converted a 9-0 run of their own finished off on a lay-in by junior Will Snider (Brooklyn, NY/Cardinal McCarrick) pulling within one point (30-29) at the three minute mark.
The squads traded baskets down the stretch and headed into the locker rooms with the Mustangs hanging on to a small one point advantage leading 34-33. Mount Ida dominated the offensive boards converting 15 of their 34 first half points off second chances.
The second half was back and forth for the bulk of the 20 minutes with the score knotting twice within the first two ticks. No more than two points separated the squads up until the 11:56 mark when Nelson buried a trifecta for the visitors giving the Raiders a five point lead up 51-46.
Unfortunately for the Mustangs, Rivier would add to their advantage going ahead by eight points on precision shooting by Bean from beyond the arc leading 58-50. The Mustangs chipped away and eventually tied the score at 64-64 capped off on a three ball by Benjamin with just over six minutes to go in the contest.
The Raiders continued to shoot well from the three point line taking a 73-68 lead following another Bean trifecta with 4:07 remaining before the final horn.
A successful lay-in from Gibbs and two good free throws from Benjamin knotted the score (75-75) with seven seconds remaining in the game. Bean would follow with a game winning three ball handing the Mustangs their third GNAC loss of the season falling 78-75.
The Mustangs had four players in double figures led by Gibbs with a game high 20 points, eight assists, and five boards. Benjamin scored all of his 17 points in the second half adding four assists while Hillery had another solid game statistically with 16 points and nine caroms. Cabral added 10 and three assists as well.
Bean notched a double-double with a team leading 19 points and 10 assists while Nelson and sophomore Cliff Celestin (Braintree, MA/Tabor Academy) added 15 points a piece.
The Raiders will host Emmanuel College on thursday at 7:00 PM in Nashua, NH for their third straight GNAC game.
