Trailblazers drop high scoring affair to Sage 98-88, Demartinis with 24 point effort

North Adams, MA- The visiting Sage College men's basketball team placed five players in double figures as they outlasted the MCLA Trailblazers 98-88 this evening in non conference action from the Amsler Campus Center Gym.  With the win, the Gators even their mark at 2-2 while MCLA drops to 1-4 on the season.

Chris Kidd led Sage with 20 points while Wayne Weir added 18 off the bench.  Isaiah Scurry notched 13 points and teammates Kevin Lenehan (12) and Barceem Dukes (10) ended in double figures.

Sage only trailed after MCLA made the first bucket of the night.  From there, the Gators controlled the flow of the fast paced action.  After a half of play marred by 26 fouls, the Gators took a 47-40 lead into the locker room.  

At the start of the second half, they seemed poised to pull away from MCLA, however the hosts kept coming back.  With 13:49 left to play, Sage led 63-48 following a layup from Jemal Robinson.  The fifteen point margin was their largest of the half.  The Trailblazers began to chip away, but still trailed by 12 points at 69-57 at the midway point of the half.  From there, MCLA began a final push at the Gators.

The Trailblazers would outscore Sage 17-6 over the next four minutes to pull within one at 75-74 after Quran Davis drilled a three pointer.  The Gators responded with consecutive layups from Kidd and when Scurry scored with 3:47 left to play, they led 81-74.  MCLA got within four at 81-77 with three minutes left to play, however the Gators once again answered with a 7-2 run to seal the victory.  MCLA never got any closer from there.

Kidd was 10-18 from the floor to lead Sage.  He added 5 boards and 3 steals.  Weir was just 3-8 from the field, but went 12-14 from the free throw line for Sage.  He grabbed 8 rebounds and collected 5 steals.  Anthony Mitchell added 5 points, but had a game best 8 assists and 8 rebounds in the win.  

The Gators overcame 22 turnovers in the win and shot 50% from the floor.

MCLA was paced by the first year duo of Mike Demartinis and Noah Yearsley.  Demartinis had a game high 24 point night that included a 6-15 showing from the floor, but he was 11-12 from the charity stripe.  Yearsley scored 19 points on 6-12 shooting and was a perfect 6-6 from the line.  Ki-Shawn Monroe added 11 points and 6 assist for MCLA.

The Trailblazers were hampered by 20 turnovers of their own.  MCLA was outrebounded by a 51-28 margin.

MCLA will take on Elms Saturday at 2pm.