Men’s Basketball Drops 98-84 Decision at Mitchell

NEW LONDON, Conn.- The Eastern Nazarene College men's basketball team absorbed its first loss of the season in New England Collegiate Conference action Saturday afternoon, enduring a 98-84 setback at Mitchell.

THE BASICS:
Score: Eastern Nazarene 84, Mitchell 98
Records: Lions (9-12, 2-1 NECC) | Mariners (15-3, 3-0 NECC)

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Mitchell strung together an 11-0 run to claim a 24-15 advantage with 10:30 remaining in the first half.
• Eastern Nazarene clawed back to cut the deficit to 49-45 on a layup by Levi White (Springfield, Mass.) with 27 seconds left to play in the opening frame.
• The Mariners carried a 51-45 lead into the halftime break after Alfonzo Stokes knocked down a jumper in the waning seconds of the first half.
• The Lions seized a 52-51 edge less than two minutes into the second stanza as Bernie McGuinness (Cumming, Ga.) tossed in a layup.
• Mitchell answered with a 10-0 spurt to regain the lead, 63-54, with 13:42 on the clock.
• The home side outscored the guests 47-39 in the second half to lock up its fifth-consecutive victory and move into sole possession of first place in the NECC standings.

                                                                                                                              
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Bernie McGuinness (Cumming, Ga.) scored a team-high 25 points while grabbing nine boards.
• Kobe Jones (Picayune, Miss.) posted 16 points and four rebounds on the day.
• Nick Manso (Brick, N.J.) poured in 15 points off the bench.
• Levi White (Springfield, Mass.) finished with 12 points, six rebounds, and a pair of steals while JaWaun Moore (Dayton, Ohio) recorded 11 points with five assists.
• Eastern Nazarene shot 48.5% from the floor and 44.4% from behind the arc.
• Mitchell concluded the contest with an efficient field-goal percentage of 61.6% while connecting on 3-of-9 from three-point territory.
• Wilton Causey paced the Mariners with a game-high 30 points off the bench. Donte Pollard also scored 18 points off the bench while Alfonzo Stokes added 17 points. Mikey Buscetto registered 13 assists and 12 points on the afternoon.

                                                                                    
LOOKING AHEAD:

Eastern Nazarene returns home to take on Lesley February 4 on Senior Day.