NEWTON, Mass. – Mount Ida College (5-3, 1-2 GNAC) defeated Saint Joseph's College (3-5, 0-3 GNAC), 77-46, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball contest on Tuesday night.
The Mustangs held the Monks to just fifteen points in the first half and just five points in the final 10:21 of the half while scoring 21 points themselves to take a 33-15 lead into the break.
Five Mount Ida players hit double figures in the game, led by sophomore point guard Joey DeFilippi (Bristol, Conn.), who tallied game-highs with 18 points, four assists and three steals. Patrick McKearney (Avon, Conn.) notched his third straight double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds, helping the Mustangs to a 47-33 edge on the glass.
The Monks are still in search of their first conference win despite a 16 point effort from junior John Crawley (Fitchburg, Mass.).
Two layups from McKearney and a three-pointer by DeFillippi helped Mount Ida open up a 7-0 lead and they would never trail in the contest. The Monks got on the board with back to back points from Ian Mileikis (Auburn, Maine), who scored eight points and was perfect from the floor (2-2) and the free-throw line (4-4).
A low scoring first half saw the Mustangs with a 12-10 lead at the midway point of the period before another triple by DeFillippi, who was 4-6 from downtown, sparked a 21-5 run that included two three-pointers by Jayson Clark (Austin, Texas), who had 15 points and four assists in the game.
Ethan Dujon (Warwick, R.I.) had 13 points for the Mustangs, who shot 45.8% in the game, including 54.1% in the second half. In his first action as a Mustang, freshman Reilly Miller (Chicopee, Mass.) scored 12 points, ten of them in the second half, where Mount Ida allowed just three points in the first seven minutes and built themselves a 50-19 lead.
The lead ballooned to as much as 38 points when Miller made a layup with 6:08 left to play, shortly after a Dujon two-handed dunk revved up a packed house of Mustang fans.
Mount Ida forced 20 turnovers and had a 22-0 edge in points off miscues. They also piled up 18 assists, with Dennis Ross (Portland, Maine) adding three helpers in the win.
Andrew Ruffen (Salem, N.H.) had ten points and three assists, along with the only two blocks of the game for the Monks.
Mount Ida has two more games before the winter break, both non-conference affairs. They will travel to Lesley on Thursday for an 8:00 pm contest before hosting Wheelock on Saturday at 1:00 pm in their 2015 finale.
Saint Joseph's College will look to end a three-game skid with a trip to Bates on Thursday for a 7:30 pm tip.
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Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 474-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.
