Men’s Basketball Drops Regular-Season Finale to Mitchell, 96-89

QUINCY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College men's basketball team absorbed a 96-89 loss to league-leading Mitchell Saturday afternoon in the final regular season tilt.

THE BASICS:
Score: Eastern Nazarene 89, Mitchell 96
Records: Lions (11-14, 3-3 NECC) | Mariners (21-4, 6-0 NECC)

                                   
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Mitchell chalked up the first eight points of the game to seize an early 8-0 advantage.
• Eastern Nazarene clawed back to capture a 12-11 edge with 14:47 remaining on a bucket by Nick Manso (Brick, N.J.).
• The Mariners claimed a seven-point lead with 10:59 left in the first half on a layup by Dontae Pollard.
• The final eight minutes of the opening period saw six ties and seven lead-changes as Mitchell closed out the half with an 8-0 run to boast a 50-44 advantage at the break.
• The Lions regained the lead with 14:15 on the clock on a layup by Levi White (Springfield, Mass.), 58-57.
• Mitchell responded with seven unanswered points to construct a 64-58 advantage with 12:16 to go.
• The home side battled back to snag a 74-73 edge with 6:30 remaining in regulation as Bernie McGuinness (Cumming, Ga.) converted a pair of free throws.
• The visitors strung together a 14-1 run to grab a 90-78 lead with 2:54 left to play in the second stanza.
• Mitchell edged Eastern Nazarene 46-45 in second-half scoring to pick up its sixth-straight league win.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Levi White (Springfield, Mass.) posted his fifth double-double of the year, scoring 27 points and grabbing 13 rebounds to go with seven assists on the night.
• Nick Manso (Brick, N.J.) poured in 18 points off the bench while adding five rebounds and three assists.
• Kobe Jones (Picayune, Miss.) netted 17 points and collected three steals.
• Bernie McGuinness (Cumming, Ga.) finished with 14 points and nine boards.
• Eastern Nazarene shot 45.9% from the floor and connected on 8-of-23 from long range.
• Mitchell concluded the contest with a field-goal percentage of 45.6% while sinking 8-of-20 from beyond three-point arc.
• Alfonzo Stokes scored a game-high 28 points to lead the Mariners while Mikey Buscetto finished with 18 points, 14 assists, and nine boards. Wilton Causey chipped in with 15 points off the bench and Dontae Pollard registered 14 points.
• Saturday evening's clash featured 11 tie-scores and 16 lead-changes.

POSTSEASON BRACKET DETERMINED:

Eastern Nazarene and New England College both finished the regular season with 3-3 records in conference play. After a slew of tie-breakers, the Lions emerged as the No. 2 seed in the NECC Tournament while the Pilgrims settled for the No. 3 seed. Eastern Nazarene will host New England College for the NECC Tournament semifinals February 22.