MARC JR.'S CAREER-BEST 26 NOT ENOUGH IN PRIDE SETBACK

Photo courtesy of Mike Davis
Photo courtesy of Mike Davis

WESTON, Mass. – Regis College nearly overcame a 14 point second half deficit but dropped an 84-81 decision to Mitchell College on Saturday afternoon in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) men's basketball action. The Pride fall to 3-8 and 2-2 in the NECC this season, while Mitchell picked up its sixth-straight win to improve to 8-3 overall and 5-0 in league games.

The Pride's Osanto Marc Jr. (Kissimmee, Fla.) poured in a career-high 26 points and added seven rebounds in the setback.

Sam Jean-Gilles (Melrose, Mass.) struck first for the Pride to open the game, but Mitchell grabbed a 13-4 lead early in the first half on a pair of Frank Martin (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) freethrows. Regis answered with a quick 7-0 spurt on baskets from Jordan Monts (Springfield, Mass.) and four points from Marc Jr. The teams traded baskets before Jean-Gilles and Ryan Chambers (Abington, Mass.) connected on back-to-back jumpers to tie the game at 17-all.

At the 10:16 mark, Chambers hit the only three of the half for the Pride to stake Regis to a 20-19 lead. Mitchell's Parris Hill (Stockton, Calif.) answered at the other end with a three-point play to put Mitchell back on top 22-20, and the Mariners led 23-21 with 9:10 to play on a Marcus Vereen (Stratford, Conn.) freethrow.

Ahmad Charles (Cambridge, Mass.) tied the game on the next possession and Marc Jr. gave the Pride their third lead of the game, 25-23, at the eight minute mark, but Mitchell responded with a 5-0 run to take a three point lead. Chambers cut the deficit to 35-34 minutes later, but Mitchell scored the final four points of the half to take a 39-34 lead into the intermission.

Jean-Gilles had nine points, six rebounds, and three steals in the opening half, while Chambers added nine of his own and three assists. Mitchell was paced by 11 points and five rebounds from Parris Hill and Frank Martin hit a pair of threes en route to 10 points.

Regis made it a 39-37 game on a three-point play from Sam Jean-Gilles, but the Mariners rattled off a 7-2 run capped off by Joshua Ford's (Jersey City, N.J.) first bucket of the game to take a 48-39 lead with 16:32 to play. Regis slowly chipped away and an Ethan Peana (Staten Island, N.Y.) jumper from the short corner made it a six point game. Ford answered with another jumper and Frank Martin hit his fourth three-pointer of the game to put Mitchell back on top by 11.

Parris Hill sandwiched layups around a Marc Jr. basket and Anthony Epps (Norwalk, Conn.) added a freethrow that would give Mitchell its largest lead of the game at 74-60 with 5:14 to play. Regis answered with a 7-0 run that included a triple from Ryan Chambers and buckets from Osanto Marc Jr. and Sam Jean-Gilles. Hill ended the run with a jumper in the lane, but Marc Jr. went on a personal 5-0 run to make it a 77-73 game and 2:24 remaining on the clock.

Regis was forced to foul and the Pride got a pair of misses at the stripe, but Damion Hewitt (Hartford, Conn.) corralled the offensive rebound and laid it in to put Mitchell back on top by six. Hill went 3-for-4 at the charity stripe to stake the Mariners to an 82-74 lead, but a layup from Marc Jr. prompted a Regis timeout with 29 seconds left and the Pride down six. Mitchell's Alex Del Rio (New Britain, Conn.) and Frank Martin hit 2-of-4 freethrows before Ryan Chambers was fouled shooting a three and made it to keep it a two possession game.

Chambers missed the freethrow to try and get an extra possession for Regis, but Ford grabbed the loose ball and despite missing a pair of freethrows, Regis still trailed by five headed into the final 10 seconds. Jean-Gilles added a layup with two seconds remaining, but it was too little too late as Mitchell hung on for the three point win.

Mitchell won the rebounding battle 44-41, while Regis committed only 13 turnovers to the Mariners' 14, which the Pride turned into 14 points. Both teams shot well from the floor as Mitchell went 27-of-58 (46.6%) from the field and the Pride shot at a 43.8% clip (32-of-73). The Pride grabbed 21 offensive rebounds in the game, leading to 27 second chance points and a 46-28 edge in points in the paint.

Marc Jr. led the Pride with 26 points, while Ryan Chambers chipped in 20 points and three assists. Sam Jean-Gilles recorded his second-straight double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds, including eight offensive boards. Ethan Peana, Jordan Monts, and Chris Leak Jr. (New Haven, Conn.) added four points each.

Parris Hill led four Mariners in double-digits with 27 points and nine rebounds. Frank Martin added 17 points, including four three's, while Joshua Ford had a double-double of 12 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Anthony Epps was the final player in double-digits for Mitchell with 10 points and a pair of steals.

Regis returns to action on Tuesday night when the Pride travels to Elms College for an NECC game scheduled for 5:00 p.m. Mitchell will try to make it seven-straight wins on Tuesday as well when the Mariners host Becker College in a 3:00 p.m. conference game.