PRIDE FALL TO MARINERS ON LAST SECOND SHOT 59-57

NEW LONDON, Conn. – Mitchell College sophomore Joshua Ford (Jersey City, N.J./Saint Anthony) made a buzzer-beating lay-up to give the Mariners a 59-57 victory over Regis College on Saturday afternoon in a New England Collegiate Conference showdown at the Yarnall Athletic Center.

The final play began with senior Alex Vess (Middletown, Conn./Xavier) inbounding the ball from in front of the Mitchell bench with only 3.7 seconds remaining in regulation. After his initial read was covered, Vess found classmate Enoch Contreras (Boca Raton, Fla./West Boca) coming back to the ball at the top of the key. Contreras turned and got into the lane before finding Ford with a bounce pass for the winning lay-in as time expired.

Ford finished with 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting and added a team-high seven rebounds. Mitchell senior Paul Jefferson (Waterbury, Conn./Waterbury Arts Magnet School) led all scorers with a career-high 21 points and went 5-for-9 from three-point range. Ryan Chambers (Abington, Mass./Abington) led three Regis players in double figures with 16 points.

The final was disappointing for Regis (3-8 overall, 1-2 NECC), which had battled back from a double-digit deficit to take its first lead of the half with under a minute to play. Chambers put the Pride in front 55-54 with a jumper from the top of the key with 48 seconds to go, and he later added a pair of free throws to increase the lead to three with 16 ticks left on the clock.

Following the made free throws, the Mariners (4-5 overall, 2-1 NECC) elected not to call timeout and instead ran a play for the game-tying three. When the initial play didn't yield a good look, Jefferson stepped back to sink an NBA-range three to tie the game at 57-57 with 5.2 seconds remaining.

Regis took a timeout and needed to go the length of the floor for a shot at the winning bucket. Instead, the Pride turned the ball over after a player stepped on the sideline while trying to bring the inbounds pass up the floor. The Mariners then called timeout to set up the final play, with Ford providing the heroics for Mitchell's second buzzer-beating win of the season.

Prior to Jefferson's game-tying three-pointer in the final seconds, the Mariners had missed 11 straight shots and made their last field goal with 11:21 to go in the stanza. Regis took full advantage of the drought, outscoring Mitchell 11-2 during the stretch to vault into the lead. Chambers scored his team's final six points during the run.

Regis shot 50 percent for the contest but committed 17 turnovers. Robert Edwards (Memphis, Tenn./Phillips Exeter Academy) recorded a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds while Ahmad Charles (Cambridge, Mass./Cambridge Rindge & Latin) chipped in with 12 points.

Mitchell, which held a 34-30 lead at the half, shot 40 percent from the floor and connected on 11-for-20 from long range. Sophomore Alex Del Rio (New Britain, Conn./Plainville) came off the bench to score eight points while Contreras handed out four assists without a single turnover.

Mitchell will next host Southern Vermont College on Thursday, January 12 at 1 p.m. Regis returns to action at home against Daniel Webster College on Tuesday, January 10 at 7 p.m.