DAVIS POWERS SAINTS TO GNAC WIN OVER MOUNT IDA

NEWTON, Mass. – With both teams looking for their first Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) win of the season, Mount Ida College erased a 12-point second half deficit but could not hold off visiting Emmanuel College, who left Mount Ida College Athletic Center  on Saturday afternoon with a 68-64 men's basketball victory.

Emmanuel junior Kyle Davis (Groveland, Mass.), who wears number 33, set a career high by scoring that same number of points in 22 minutes off of the bench, and his offensive rebound and tip-in with 22 seconds to play kept the visitors with a four point advantage after a jumper by Mustang freshman Joey DeFillippi (Bristol, Conn.) got the home team back within a pair.

DeFillippi was one of four Mustangs in double-figures, with ten points, while fellow first year Patrick McKearney(Avon, Conn.) scored a team-high 18 points. It was McKearney's second straight game with 18 points, and his third consecutive double-digit night.

Davis came off the bench in the first half at the 15:28 mark and scored the next 18 points for his team. He went 8-14 from the field in the first half and accounted for all but four of his team's first half field goals. The Saints would go on to shoot 45.6% (26-57) from the floor, while Mount Ida was 21-52 (40.4%) after being right at 40% in each half.

Mount Ida countered Davis with a more balanced attack in the first half, and by shooting 6-12 from the three-point line, spurred by freshman guard Jayson Clark (Austin, Texas), who hit both of his long range attempts and led Mount Ida with eight points at half en route to a 13 point performance. Clark also had a game-high five assists and four steals.

Saints junior John Clay (Westport, Mass.), who had a double-double himself with 15 points and 10 rebounds, nailed a pair of three-pointers himself late in the first half, and the visitors went to the break with a 32-28 advantage.

Out of the break, Emmanuel jumped on top 48-36 with the help of back to back three-point shots by Kyle Smith (Los Angeles, Calif.), who had nine points in the game, all of them in the final twenty minutes.

The Mustangs began to claw back with a jumper by John Oliver (North Babylon, N.Y.) and three-pointers by Clark and Oliver to cut the lead to 48-46 with 9:26 to play.

They got their noses in front on five straight free-throws made by DeFillippi, but Davis continued to dominate for Emmanuel, converting a three-point play and then another layup next time down the floor to put the Saints back in front before Clay added another three-pointer.

The Mustangs cut the deficit to two points on three occasions, the final time on DeFillippi's jumper with 45 seconds to play. After Davis's tip-in, an offensive foul on the inbound gave Emmanuel free-throw shots, and Smith and Julian Diggs (Upper Marlboro, Md.), who led the Saints with five assists, each made foul shots to keep the Saints up by two possessions.

Davis added eight rebounds in his career day, while Mount Ida got eight boards and seven points from Oliver.

The Saints had an 18-2 advantage in second chance points and out-rebounded Mount Ida 35-30.

Mount Ida (1-6, 0-3 GNAC) plays their final game of 2014 on Monday afternoon when they host Emerson in a non-conference matchup at 6:00 pm.

Emmanuel (3-5, 1-2 GNAC) heads to MIT for their finale on Tuesday evening at 7:00 pm.

*Release courtesy of Mount Ida College Sports Information Dept.