Schools

Mitchell College Splits Basketball Games With Becker

Mariners win women's game, lose men's game in Saturday match-ups

Mitchell College won the women's game but dropped the men's result in basketball games that closed out the regular season on Saturday. The following information was provided by David Longolucco:

Women's Basketball: Mitchell 63, Becker 57

The Mitchell College women’s basketball team outscored Becker College 20-9 over the final 6:15 of Saturday’s New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) regular season finale to secure a 63-57 victory at the Yarnall Athletic Center.

The win clinched a postseason berth for the Mariners (8-16 overall, 7-11 NECC), who will be making their fourth straight appearance in the NECC Championship. Becker (8-17 overall, 8-10 NECC) will also be one of the seven teams competing at the tournament, which begins with quarterfinal games on February 21. Seeding for the 2012 NECC Championship will be announced by the conference on Sunday evening.

Junior Kaylee Cerruto (Torrington, Conn./Torrington) led all scorers with 18 points to fuel the Mitchell offense. Freshmen Sheanna James (Waterbury, Conn./Kaynor Tech) and Hannah Smith (Wakefield, R.I./South Kingstown) also finished in double figures with 16 and 11 points, respectively. James added seven steals, six rebounds and four assists while Smith grabbed eight rebounds.

Tatiana Mojica (Worcester, Mass./Doherty) paced the Hawks with 17 points and eight rebounds while Haley Ooms (Valatie, N.Y./Ichabod Crane) nearly logged a triple-double with 14 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. Michelle Griczika (Barre, Mass./Gardner) added nine points and Kristina Desnoyers (Adams, Mass./Hoosac) contributed seven points and nine boards.

The lead changed hands five times in what was a closely-contested first half. The Hawks took their biggest lead of the stanza on a jumper by Ooms that made it 17-9 with 9:18 to go, but the Mariners responded with nine straight points to vault back ahead. Freshman Zilka Navarro (Waterbury, Conn./Kennedy) capped the stretch with a three-pointer to put Mitchell in front 18-17 with 6:21 remaining.

Becker scored the final six points of the half—four of which came from Jacqueline Chila (Monroe, Conn./Masuk)—to take a 31-29 lead into the locker room at the break. Mojica had 13 points and six rebounds to lead the Hawks while James had nine points to pace the Mariners.

The second half was just as close, as neither side led by more than four until a lay-up by Cerruto put the Mariners ahead 43-38 with 8:55 to play. Things quickly changed, however, as Becker heated up and Mitchell suddenly went cold. The Hawks seized control with 10 unanswered points over the next 2:40 in a spurt that was bookended by a pair of baskets by Desnoyers. The Mariners, who missed six straight shots during the stretch, called timeout to regroup.

Mitchell responded with six straight points to regain the lead. Senior Binaca Young (Bridgeport, Conn./Kolbe Cathedral) hadn’t made a shot all day before getting into the lane for a lay-up to provide the spark. Navarro later followed with a jumper to cut the deficit to one, and Cerruto put Mitchell back on top with a three-pointer that made it 50-48 with 4:32 to go.

Becker didn’t go away, tying the game twice more before a three-pointer by Smith snapped a 52-52 tie and put Mitchell in front for good with 2:46 remaining. She then added a lay-up to extend the lead to five, and the Mariners closed out the win by going 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the final 1:45.

Becker finished with a better team shooting percentage (38 percent) and held the rebounding edge (51-42) but turned the ball over 28 times. The Mariners capitalized on the miscues and finished with a 29-14 advantage in points off turnovers.

Young, playing in the final home game of her career, struggled offensively but made up for it with a game-high 13 rebounds and three steals. Prior to the game, she was honored in a special senior day ceremony.

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Men's Basketball: Becker 87, Mitchell 49

The Becker College men’s basketball team cruised to an 87-49 victory over Mitchell College on Saturday afternoon at the Yarnall Athletic Center on the final day of New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) regular season play.

Becker (21-4, 16-0 NECC) extended its winning streak to 15 games and clinched its second consecutive undefeated season in conference play. The Hawks, who have now won 35 straight NECC regular season contests, have earned the top seed and the right to host the semifinals and finals of the NECC Championship on February 24-25.

Terrance Favors (Boston, Mass./Bedford) scored a game-high 16 points in only 18 minutes to lead four Becker players in double figures. He shot an efficient 7-of-9 from the floor and also finished with three rebounds and two steals. Sophomore Joshua Ford (Jersey City, N.J./Saint Anthony) paced the Mariners with 15 points and 11 rebounds, his team-leading 11th double-double of the season.

The Hawks won the opening tap and never trailed after Tyler Roberson (Irvington, N.J./St. Mary’s) drilled a three-pointer on the first shot of the game. Becker later built the lead to double digits at 20-9 following a jumper by Yahmad Rountree (Waterbury, Conn./Woodland) with 12:40 to go in the half.

Becker closed the stanza with an 11-2 run to lead 44-22 at the break. Rajai Leggett (New Haven, Conn./Sheehan) had four points during the run, including a buzzer-beating jumper off a steal and assist by Lee Brockett (Waterbury, Conn./Kennedy) as the clock was winding down. The Hawks shot 46 percent for the half and held the Mariners to just 29 percent shooting. Favors had 11 points at the intermission to lead all scorers.

Mitchell (5-18 overall, 3-13 NECC) couldn’t make it a game in the second half as Becker continued to light it up, shooting 50 percent in the stanza to finish up at 48 percent for the contest. The Hawks outscored the Mariners 22-0 in transition and 28-26 in the paint. Leggett finished with 14 points and eight rebounds to go along with three steals and three blocks. Roberson chipped in with 12 points while Rountree contributed 11 points and seven boards.

The game was the finale for five Mitchell seniors. Enoch Contreras (Boca Raton, Fla./West Boca) finished with 12 points while Alex Vess (Middletown, Conn./Xavier) added three points and a season-high nine rebounds. Paul Jefferson (Waterbury, Conn./Waterbury Arts Magnet School) and Terrance Fisher (Richmond, Va./Richmond Christian School) combined for 11 points while Jeff Gomez (New London, Conn./Grasso Tech) missed the game due to injury. The five were honored prior to the game in a special senior day ceremony.

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