Men’s Basketball Shoots Past New England College 81-52

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – The MCLA Men's Basketball team was lights out from beyond the three-point line, shooting an amazing 47.4% on an 18 for 38 performance this evening against New England College. First-year guard Hayden Morris-Gray led all scorers with 20 points on a six-for-seven night from deep and a perfect two-for-two at the line.

THE BASICS:

• Date: Tuesday, December 5, 2023
• Score: New England College 52, MCLA 81
• Records: New England College Pilgrims 2-6 (GNAC 1-0) | MCLA Trailblazers 5-4 (MASCAC 0-0)

HIGHLIGHTS

• The signs of a good night for the Trailblazers started early when, about five minutes into the game Dylan Morris-Gray drove to the hoop but kicked out his brother Hayden Morris-Gray in the left corner for a wide-open three-pointer. On the inbounds, pressure from the combination of Hayden and Kumar Lewis forced a turnover by NEC, Hayden controlled the ball and bounced a pass to a streaking Quentin Gittens for a thunderous dunk that fired up both the MCLA players and the crowd.
• The home teams' momentum continued to grow, with MCLA taking a 20-point lead into the half-time locker room. The Trailblazers bench had 21 first half points, just behind the Pilgrims team total of 23 at the half.
• Hayden Morris-Gray scored 20 points to match his career-high against Rivier on November 11^th. This was also the second straight game in which he reached double digits after his 14 point night against Elms on November 29^th. This was also the second straight game in which a Morris-Gray scored 20 points after Dylan reached that number against Elms.
• Sophomore Jake Bluestein finished the game with 12 points in 14 minutes off the Trailblazer bench. Bluestein was 4-7 from beyond the arc, including a 3-4 showing in the first half.
• Jayden Mills closed out the trio of MCLA double-digit scores with 10 points to go with seven rebounds. The seven rebounds tied him with Gittens for the game-high on the boards.
• MCLA got contributions up and down the score sheet as 12 of the 15 players who appeared in the game scored at least two points. MCLA finished the game with a 37-16 advantage in points off the bench
• Alex Williams led NEC with 10 points and five rebounds in 21 minutes. Junior Efosa pulled down a team-high six rebounds, while Nick Gomeau pulled down five boards and scored nine points.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Field Goals / %: NEC 23-63 / 36.5%, MCLA 27-63 / 42.9%
• 3 Points / %: NEC 1-7 / 14.3%, MCLA 18-38 / 47.4%
• Free Throw / %: NEC 5-11 / 45.5%, MCLA 9-14 / 64.3%,
• Rebounds: NEC 38, MCLA 45
• Points off Turnovers: NEC 12, MCLA 12
• Second Chance Points: NEC 7, MCLA 11
• Points in the Paint: NEC 34, MCLA 16
• Bench Points: NEC 16, MCLA 37

UP NEXT:

On Saturday, MCLA will be back in action when they travel to SUNY Plattsburgh for a non-conference matchup with the Cardinals at Memorial Hall. The teams will take the floor for a 2 p.m. tip-off.

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