Schools

Mitchell College Wins One, Loses One

Mariners defeat Daniel Webster, fall to Elms

The Mitchell College men's baksetball team held on during a close game to defeat Daniel Webster College 62-60, while the women's team fell to Elms College in a 69-58 outcome on Tuesday in the New England Collegiate Conference openers for both teams. The following information was provided by David Longolucco, sports information director for Mitchell College:

Men's Basketball: Mitchell 62, Daniel Webster 60

Sophomore Joshua Ford (Jersey City, N.J./Saint Anthony) scored 14 points and pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds to pace the Mariners (3-4 overall, 1-0 NECC). He also added six assists, three steals and a block and made a number of big plays on the night. Seniors Paul Jefferson (Waterbury, Conn./Waterbury Arts Magnet School) and Alex Vess (Middletown, Conn./Xavier) chipped in with 12 and 11 points, respectively, as Mitchell won its first NECC game since 2010. 

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Daniel Webster’s John Hickson (Springfield, Mass./Cathedral) led all scorers with 19 points and was 4-for-9 from three-point range. Eric Suarez (Brooklyn, N.Y./Roosevelt) added a double-double with 15 points and 13 boards while Daris Cosby (Columbia, S.C./Richland Northeast) finished with 14 points and seven rebounds.

Vess and sophomore Alex Del Rio (New Britain, Conn./Plainville) set the tone early for the Mariners. Vess was a force on the defensive glass while Del Rio piled up six of his game-high seven assists in the opening 10 minutes of the contest. The Mariners took their largest lead at 26-19 on a lay-up by freshman Michael Pellegrini (Middletown, Conn./Middletown) with 9:53 to play, but the offense struggled for the remainder of the half.

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The Eagles climbed back into the game and took a 30-29 lead on a jumper by Suarez with 3:59 to go in the half. Daniel Webster extended the lead to as many as five and clung to a 36-32 margin at the break. The Mariners shot just 2-for-10 to end the half but stayed in the game behind a solid effort from their bench, which outscored the Eagles 16-1 over the first 20 minutes.

Mitchell reclaimed the lead early in the second half on a four-point play by Jefferson and held it for the majority of the stanza. The Mariners took their biggest lead of the half at 59-54 with 4:48 to go on a layup by Ford, but the Eagles answered right back. Cosby drilled a three-pointer to cut the deficit to two, and on the following possession he was fouled on another long-range attempt. He drilled all three free throws to give Daniel Webster a 60-59 lead with 3:47 remaining.

Mitchell took the lead for good on a jumper by Vess with 2:42 to play and held on in the late stages. Ford added a free throw with 20 ticks left to make it a two-point game and had a chance to ice it with nine seconds left, but he missed the front end of one-and-one. The Eagles pulled down the rebound and had a chance to win at the buzzer, but a three-pointer by Keith Speed (Columbus, Ohio/Reynoldsburg) was off the mark.

Mitchell will next play at Southern Vermont College on Saturday, December 10 at 3 p.m. Daniel Webster returns to action at Wheelock College on Saturday at noon.

Women's Basketball: Elms 69, Mitchell 58

Denisha Parks (Fall River, Mass./Durfee) led all scorers with 29 points to fuel the Blazers (4-2 overall, 1-0 NECC). She shot 8-for-13 from the floor and 13-for-15 from the free throw line while also adding eight rebounds. Erika Murphy (Torrington, Conn./Torrington) finished with 12 points and a game-high 13 rebounds while Emily Boucher (Ashburnham, Mass./Oakmont Regional) chipped in with 10 points.

Junior Kaylee Cerruto (Torrington, Conn./Torrington) paced the Mariners (1-6 overall, 0-1 NECC) with 19 points on 7-for-16 shooting. Freshman Sheanna James (Waterbury, Conn./Kaynor Tech) and senior Bianca Young (Bridgeport, Conn./Kolbe Cathedral) also finished in double figures with 13 and 11 points, respectively.

Mitchell led by as many as seven points in the first half but saw the margin fade away in the final 8:51 of the stanza. Elms scored the final six points of the half to tie the game at 29-29 heading into the locker room at intermission. Parks led all scorers with 14 points at the break.

Elms took control in the second half behind a 7-0 run that left it with a 44-36 lead with 13:25 remaining in the contest. Jen Normandie (Westford, Mass./Westford Academy) scored a pair of buckets during the stretch while Parks contributed a layup and three free throws. The Blazers never trailed again and pumped the lead to as many as 16 points with 5:23 to go.

Normandie finished with nine points and nine rebounds as the Blazers held a 49-36 edge on the glass. Elms shot 38 percent from the floor and held Mitchell to a 33-percent clip.

Mitchell will next play at Southern Vermont College on Saturday, December 10 at 1 p.m. Elms returns to action at Lesley University on Saturday at 1 p.m.


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