MEN'S HOOPS SURRENDERS LATE LEAD, FALLS TO MOUNT IDA 73-70

NEWTON, Mass. – With six seconds remaining and Mount Ida College up 71-70 against Emmanuel College, Ethan Dujon (Warwick, R.I.) stole the inbounds pass and sank a fast break layup for his 1,000th career point, sealing a 73-70 win for the Mustangs in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action on Thursday evening at Mount Ida Athletic Center.

The Mustangs fell behind by double-digits in the first half, but came from behind to win a thriller and improve to 9-5 overall and 5-2 in the conference, while Dujon scored nine of his 15 points in the second half and became to 10^th member of the Mount Ida College 1,000 point club with the final basket of the game.

The Saints, behind 21 points apiece from Emmett Riddick (Middletown, Conn.) and Joe Tamburro (South Windsor, Conn.) built a 16-6 lead to start the game and then held a 12 point advantage in the second half after the Mustangs had fought back and tied the game at 34 by the break.

Mount Ida's second comeback started with a 14-2 run to tie the game at 54, including three three-pointers by John Oliver (N. Babylon, N.Y.), who had 11 points and four assists in the win, and a three-point play by Joey DeFillippi (Bristol, Conn.) who had 15 points to match Dujon for the team lead and also had four dimes.

Dujon hit two triples down the stretch as well, and DeFillippi extended the Mount Ida lead to 66-62 with 3:04 to play. Jacob Sartain (W. Palm Beach, Fla.) made a layup to stretch the advantage to six, but the Saints got back to back three-pointers from Riddick and Colin Cordero (Bolton, Conn.), who had nine points, to tie the game at 68.

With thirty-eight seconds left, Riddick hit a jump shot to give the visitors a two point lead, but for the second straight year against the Saints, DeFillippi hit a long three to put Mount Ida up 71-70 with just six seconds left.

Sitting at 998 points, Dujon jumped in front of the inbound pass from Tamburro and layed up his 1,000^th point from the right side as the clock wound down, leaving only time for a heave by Tamburro that didn't connect.

Mount Ida shot 41% from behind the three-point line (12-29), while the Saints managed just 4-20 from downtown. Emmanuel was an efficient 14-17 from the free throw line, and Mount Ida struggled at the stripe, going just 7-14.

Tamburro just missed a double-double with nine rebounds, while Aidan Hadley (Owls Head, Maine) had eight points and eight rebounds for the Saints, who built their first half lead thanks to an 11-3 edge in offensive boards in the opening period.

Errald Jordine (Stamford, Conn.) led the Mustangs with seven rebounds, to go with six points and an assist, and Jayson Clark (Austin, Texas) had a game-high seven dimes and two steals.

Dujon is the first Mount Ida player since Isaiah Benjamin (2008-2012) to eclipse the 1,000 point plateau. He will try to add to his even grand on Saturday afternoon with a 1:00 pm home game against Anna Maria. The Mustangs will look to avenge their first loss of the conference schedule, a controversial 68-67 defeat to the Amcats on December 1^st.

Emmanuel (1-12, 0-7 GNAC) tries to bounce back with a 1:00 pm road game at Norwich the same date.

*Release courtesy of Mount Ida College Sports Information