Men’s Basketball Shakes off Slow Start to Knock off Chargers
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Colby-Sawyer | 31 | 36 | 67 |
|
Mitchell | 42 | 37 | 79 |
NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell men's basketball improved their record to .500 (4-4) in conference play after knocking off Colby-Sawyer College, 79-67, on Saturday afternoon in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) clash at the Yarnall Athletic Center.
Senior Jaylyn Clardy (Pensacola, Fla.) led all scorers with 24 points on the day. Junior Eddie Volkerts (New London, Conn.) recorded his seventh double-double of the season, finishing with 12 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists, while senior Wilton Causey (Worcester, Mass.) added 11 points and six rebounds. Freshman Collin Jefferson (Orlando, Fla.) chipped in 10 points off the bench, all coming in the first half.
The Chargers stormed out of the gate, opening the game on a 12-1 run. A Clardy jump shot stopped the bleeding five and half minutes into the half, and the Mariners proceeded to go on an 18-6 run and took their first lead of the game, 19-18, on a three-pointer by Clardy at the 11:10 mark. Elijah Thomas pushed Colby-Sawyer back on top 10 seconds later with a pair of made free throws, but Collin Jefferson knocked down a jumper 35 seconds later to put the Mariners ahead by one point.
The Chargers regained a narrow edge across the ensuring minutes, until the Mariners took the lead for good on a Jefferson basket with six minutes and 39 seconds left in the half. From there, Mitchell peeled off a 15-5 run to close the stanza and held a 42-31 advantage at the intermission. Colby-Sawyer used the second half to try and chip away at the Mitchell lead, however the Mariners did not let them get closer than within four points, and led by as much as 16 down the stretch.
Colby-Sawyer made one final push and trimmed the deficit to five points on a Nick Grant layup with 1:52 on the clock, but Mitchell freshman Tommy Daly (Wethersfield, Conn.) responded with a clutch three-pointer to seal the win.
Bryson Jenkins paced the Chargers with 16 points, including a 4-9 mark from beyond the arc. Chaz Cullum added 14 points, six rebounds, five assists, and three steals in the loss, while Elijah Thomas also finished in double-figures scoring with 10 of his own.
The Mariners held a sizable advantage from the free-throw line, shooting 12-13 from the charity stripe compared to 5-11 for Colby-Sawyer. Mitchell also outrebounded the Chargers 38-33, forced 17 turnovers, and received 26 points from their bench.
The Mariners (12-7, 4-4 GNAC) return to the court on Tuesday, February 4, with a GNAC game on the road at Anna Maria College with tip-of scheduled for 5:00 pm. The Chargers (3-17, 1-8 GNAC) will look to rebound when they play at Anna Maria College on Saturday, February 8.
