Seniors Thad Broughton (Peabody, Mass./Saint Mary’s) and Adam Garner (North Adams, Mass./Drury) combined for nine three-pointers, as the duo racked up 35 of MCLA’s 43 first half points. The Trailblazers led by as many as 11 points (31-20) in the opening stanza, but Mount Ida closed the gap to five points (43-38), as freshman Gino DiPietro (Westbrook, Maine/Westbrook) netted one of his three treys at the buzzer. Senior Scott Chamberlain (Millis, Mass./Millis) tallied 15 of his 20 points in the first half to keep the Mustangs within striking distance.
Mount Ida opened the second half with a three-pointer by senior Matt McGaughran (Taunton, Mass./Coyle & Cassidy) to cut the deficit to two, but MCLA used a 20-5 run over the next six minutes to take control of the game. Broughton and Garner finished with five three-pointers and five rebounds apiece. They totaled 29 and 28 points respectively, and sophomore Brandon Pender (Queens, N.Y./Lawrence Woodmere) grabbed a game-best ten boards to round things out for MCLA.
DiPietro, along with classmate Andy McCoo (Penacook, N.H./Merrimack Valley) and sophomore Mike Dunham (Salem, N.H./Salem) recorded nine points each for Mount Ida. McCoo snatched a team-high nine rebounds, and McGaughran dished out four assists in a losing effort for the Mustangs.
Chamberlain and Garner were selected to the All-Tournament Team. They joined Most Outstanding Player Sean Kelly (Providence, R.I./Wheeler) and Brian Zukowski (Dracut, Mass./Dracut) of Wheaton and Kevin Payette (Woonsocket, R.I./Woonsocket) of Rhode Island.
Mount Ida (0-2, 0-0 NAC) returns to action on Tuesday, when it travels to the Wentworth Institute of Technology at 6:00 p.m.