NEW LONDON, Conn. – Lesley University's second half push came up short this afternoon as Mitchell College held on late to sweep the regular season series over the Lynx with a 71-65 win in New England Collegiate Conference action. The Mariners improve to 10-11 on the year and 7-6 in NECC play with the win while the Lynx, who have dropped four of their last five games by single-digits, fall to 2-21 overall and 2-12 in the conference with the loss.
The Mariners raced out to a 17-3 advantage over the game's opening six minutes. Seniors Joshua Ford (Jersey City, N.J.) and Parris Hill (Stockton, Calif.) led the charge during the streak as they combined for 13 points. The Mariners offense stayed hot as a layup by freshman Josh Maynard (Waterford, Conn.) extended the Mitchell lead to 19, 29-10, with 10:09 remaining in the half.
The Lynx finally received a spark as junior Chris Barletta (Valrico, Fla.) connected for an old-fashioned three-point play that led the guests to a 16-5 run to close out the first half, cutting the Mitchell deficit to 34-26.
The Lesley comeback continued after the break as a triple by senior Justin Rosa (East Brunswick, N.J.) cut the Mitchell lead to three, 42-39 with12:30 on the clock. A Rosa steal and layup on the ensuing Mariners possession brought the Lynx to within one before Maynard knocked down a pair of free throws push the hosts lead back to four.
The Lynx would not go away, and back-to-back three-pointers by Rosa and junior Corbin Polec (Okemos, Mich.) gave Lesley their first lead of the day, 47-44, with just under 11-minutes to play.
The lead would not last long, however, as the Mariners answered with a 10-4 stretch capped by a Wyatt Springer (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) trey and Mitchell would not trail again as they held on for the 71-65 victory.
Ford led the way for the hosts, posting a double-double of 17 points and ten rebounds while Hill dumped in a team-high 19 points to go with his six boards. Junior Donovin McLean (Jersey City, N.J.) added 13 points for the hosts and sophomore Keith Lanham (Bridgeport, Conn.) finished with six points and a team-best seven boards.
Rosa recorded his seventh straight game in double-figures, finishing with a game-high 20 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore Jacob DiDomenico (N. Providence, R.I.) added 18 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the floor while corralling six boards. Polec went a perfect 4-of-4 from deep on his way to 14 points while Barletta added nine points and four rebounds. Sophomore Terrell Toney (Lakewood, Wash.) led all players with six assists to go with his four points.
The Lynx will travel to Regis College for a showdown with the Pride on Tuesday at 7:00p while the Mariners will host Daniel Webster College at Tuesday. Tip-off for that matchup is scheduled for 5:30.