MBB Play-In Games Down To The Wire; seven-seed Dean and nine seed Mitchell advance to Quarterfinals
WINTHROP, Mass. - Both Men's Basketball contests came down to the wire as seven-seeded Dean and nine-seeded Mitchell both advance to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Quarterfinal games after two exciting late-game finishes. Dean won the game from a game-winning layup from Frankie Idlett as Mitchell's Brandon Lee tipped in a crucial offensive rebound to advance their teams to the next round. The Quarterfinal games are set to begin tomorrow as the Bulldogs will match up with two seed Lasell in Newton, Mass. with a 7 pm start time while the Mariners will head up to Standish, Maine to take on top-seeded Saint Joseph's (Maine) in a 7:30 pm tilt. The winners of the quarterfinals will advance to the semifinals to play on Thursday, Feb. 27th and those winners will head to the GNAC Championship game on Saturday, March 1st.
Recap Courtesy of Dean Athletic Communications
Franklin, MA- The Dean College men's basketball team secured their first postseason victory since 2020, taking down Anna Maria College by a final score of 89-87. Dean will now continue in the GNAC tournament and keep their hopes alive for a title.
The game opened with Dean possession, followed by a quick layup by Christian Yeates (Atlanta, GA). Noah Ritchards (Rosenburg, TX) then drove down the other side of the court and blocked a layup attempt by the AmCats. Yeates entered the scoring panel again, along with Billy Ray Barnes III (Inglewood, CA), generating back-to-back buckets from the field. After the AmCats got on the board with a scoop and score, Barnes returned to offense and drilled a three-pointer, forcing Anna Maria to burn a timeout. Dean opened on a 9-2 run in the first three minutes of play.
With about 14 minutes left in the half, Greg Farrow (Milwaukee, WI) checked into the game and secured a deep three-pointer. Tyler Nordstrom (Sterling, CT) picked up the assist. Shortly after, Ja'maine Davenport (Mays Landing, NJ) drew another foul by Anna Maria, securing extra points for the Bulldogs. By the midway mark of the first half, Dean already possessed a 16-point lead.
The middle section of the half saw Anna Maria slowly crawl their way back into the ballgame. After a few fast breaks, the AmCats brought the game with seven. However, Davenport and Idlett quickly ended the threat. Dean capitalized on fouls in the final minutes, taking a 10-point lead while putting Anna Maria into their foul limit. The Bulldogs had the lead 47-37 going into the locker room.
At the start of the second half, Dean grabbed a stop on defense, followed by a close miss by Yeates on the attack. The AmCats, however, got the first points of the half with a deep three-point shot. Anna Maria continued their offensive surge, scoring multiple layups and bringing the deficit to just five. Their production forced the Bulldogs to take a timeout and regroup.
After the timeout, the war of attrition began. The AmCats smacked a deep three, bringing the Dean lead to just one point. However, Idlett smoothly responded for Dean, ringing a mid-range jumper to aid the damage. Shortly after, the Bulldogs responded again, with Davenport securing an offensive board and layup. By the final ten minutes of the game, the difference remained one point.
The final ten minutes saw Dean gain new life on offense. The likes of Barnes, Farrow, Yeates, and Idlett all contributed underneath the basket, bringing the Bulldog lead back to five. Dean also forced consecutive turnovers by Anna Maria, swinging the momentum in their favor. However, the AmCats quickly rallied back, grabbing consecutive boards and driving back to score. The game remained 75-74 Dean with just over three minutes left to play.
With the Bulldogs leading by four with 60 seconds on the clock, Barnes sunk a basket to secure a deeper lead. Anna Maria quickly responded on the other side, scoring a layup and calling timeout.
The game was decided by the final ten seconds. Down by two, Anna Maria drove into the paint and emphatically tied the game. However, with five seconds left, Idlett called for the game, drove into the paint, and delivered the go-ahead basket with 1.2 seconds remaining. Ritchards then blocked the AmCats' inbound attempt, finalizing the game for Dean.
Idlett led the way for Dean with 25 total points, ten rebounds, and three steals. Meanwhile, Barnes followed closely with 22 points and five rebounds. Davenport finished third in total points with 15. As a team, Dean shot nearly 48 percent from the field and accumulated 42 total rebounds.
This marks Dean's first postseason victory since 2020. They will now travel to #2 Lasell University tomorrow night for a 7PM tip-off.
Recap Courtesy of Mitchell Athletic Communications Department
CHICOPEE, Mass. – The ninth-seeded Mitchell College men's basketball team rallied from a 12-point deficit with just over three minutes remaining on Monday night to defeat eighth-seeded Elms College, 74-72, in the Play-In Round of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men's Basketball Championship Tournament at Picknelly Arena.
On the heels of earning their first birth in the GNAC Men's Basketball Championship Tournament, Mitchell (15-11) will be playing in the Quarterfinals for the first time ever when they travel to face top-seeded Saint Joseph's College (ME) on Tuesday, February 25, with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 pm. The Mariners and Monks squared off once during the regular season, with SJC earning a decisive 98-74 victory on Saturday, February 15, at the Yarnall Athletic Center.
The Monks will enter Tuesday's Quarterfinal Round with an overall record of 21-4, having gone 13-1 against GNAC opponents en route to earning the top seed in the tournament.
Mitchell senior Jaylyn Clardy (Pensacola, Fla.) led all scorers with 22 points, while fellow senior Wilton Causey (Worcester, Mass.) finished with 15 points on 7-10 shooting, to go along with seven rebounds, two steals, and a block. Junior Brandon Lee (Stockton, Cali.) added eight points, 10 boards, and a pair of steals.
After the two teams entered halftime with the score knotted up at 32-32, Mitchell stole the momentum to begin the second half, pulling ahead by five on a layup by Causey with 16:27 on the clock. The Blazers then snatched away that momentum, going on a 24-9 run to take a 10-point lead, 61-51, with just under 10 minutes remaining.
Elms held steady and maintained an advantage that consistently remained in double-figures, going up by 13 at the 4:16 mark after a layup by Aden Goffe. Brandon Lee then converted a layup, drew a foul, and made the free throw, but another layup by Goffe pushed the Blazer lead back to 12 with just over three minutes on the clock. After a pair of free throws by junior Walker Baillargeon (Norwich, Conn.) made it a 10-point game once again, the Mariners went on an 11-0 run in the waning moments, taking the lead for good when Lee pulled down an offensive rebound and put back a tip-in off a missed layup by Jaylyn Clardy. A free-throw by Causey sealed the game for the Mariners, who shot 44.6% from the floor and forced 10 turnovers by Elms.
Despite narrowly losing the rebounding battle, 40-34, Mitchell was able to find their footing down low, outscoring the Blazers 44-36 in the paint.
Goffe paced the Blazers, finishing with 17 points, five rebounds, and five assists. Edgardo Jacob Cancel added 13 points off the bench in the loss, while Adam Sarlan netted seven points and racked up a game-high 14 rebounds.
The Blazers, who were also playing the program's first game in the GNAC Men's Basketball Championship Tournament, conclude their season with a 6-20 overall record.
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The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 16 member institutions and over 4000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 20 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.
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