NEWTON, Mass. – Junior Errald Jordine (Stamford, Conn.) connected on 6-of-8 shots, including going 4-for-4 from behind the three-point arc as the Mount Ida College men's basketball team picked up a 78-58 non-conference victory over Wentworth Institute of Technology on Monday night.
Winners of four straight the Mustangs improve to 6-4 on the season while the Leopards fall to 2-6 after closing out first semester play.
A three pointer from senior Dan DeVaux (Wethersfield, Conn.) and layup from junior Jason Ganley (Northbridge, Mass.) gave Wentworth a 5-0 lead to open the contest. Mount Ida scored seven straight points and took a 7-5 lead after a layup from junior Jayson Clark (Austin, Texas) with 16:22 remaining.
The Leopards bounced back and used a 9-0 run, capped off by a freshman Stephen Azums (Hyde Park, Mass.) layup with 12:56 to play in the half and led 14-7. An Azums layup with just under 12 minutes left put the visitors back up by seven, however the Mustangs scored the next five points and closed the gap to a pair with 8:32 left on a Clark free throw. Back-to-back three pointers by DeVaux and junior Sam Knollmeyer (Hampton, N.H.) and a DeVaux layup made up an 8-0 run and gave Wentworth a 24-14 lead with 6:29 remaining.
Mount Ida used an 18-3 run – all by way of three pointers – to close out the half and took a 32-27 lead at the break. The Mustangs, who would connect on seven straight from behind the arc to close out the half, shot 58.3 percent from long range over the first 20:00.
Freshman Matt Vartanian (Salem, N.H.) and Clark traded baskets to open the second half before a three pointer from junior Ben Kizel (Short Hills, N.J.) and a Vartanian layup tied the game at 34-all with 18:11 left in the contest.
Junior Joey DeFillippi (Bristol, Conn.) hit a three and senior Jesse Nelson (Hopatcong, N.J.) hit a jumper to push the hosts' lead to five. Ganley made a layup which brought the lead back to three, however a 14-4 Mount Ida run put the Mustangs ahead, 53-40, with 11:08 left.
Wentworth cut the lead to nine with 6:22 left in the game, however the Mustangs used a 23-7 run to lead by 23.
Jordine's 16 points led four players in double figures as Clark scored 14 points, junior Kevin Conner (Mansfield, Mass.) had 13 points and three assists, and DeFillippi had 11 points, five rebounds, and three assists.
Ganley recorded a double-double as he scored 13 points and grabbed 13 rebounds while also dishing our four assists. DeVaux finished with 14 points, while Vartanian and Kizel had eight points apiece. Kizel and Knollmeyer also had five assists each. Azums finished with six points and seven rebounds. Wentworth had a 35 30 rebounding advantage.
Wentworth is idle until playing in the Tampa Bay Shootout on December 29.
