Men’s Basketball grinds out 73-66 nonconference win over Sage

North Adams, MA- Noah Yearsley scored 24 points and Dylan Morris-Gray and Jayden Mills each scored 15 as MCLA defeated Sage College this evening at the Amsler Campus Center, 73-66. With the win the Trailblazers improve to 4-5 while the Gators fall to 2-4. 

The Trailblazers entered the second half with a slim 34-33 lead and would stretch that lead to 46-37 just three minutes in on a Morris-Gray jumper which forced a Sage timeout.  

MCLA was able to hold a narrow advantage for the next ten minutes but a steal and subsequent layup by Todd Williamson gave Sage the lead at 55-54 with 7:46 left in the game. 

The two squads would exchange the lead several times over the next five and a half minutes but a Jackson Brown 3-pointer with 2:21 left gave the visitors a 65-61 lead. On the next possession Yearsley would answer cutting the deficit to 65-64 with just 1:59 to play.

With just over a minute to play another Yearsley 3-pointer would give MCLA a 68-66 lead. On the next possession Rece Racette would steal the ball near half-court, draw a foul and sink a huge free-throw. 

From there the Trailblazers would hold the Gators scoreless and hit enough free-throws to put the game away, 73-66. 

Both teams struggled from the field with Sage shooting just 30.9% and MCLA at 35.1%. The Trailblazers struggled form the charity strip (12-27) but made up the difference on the boards outrebounding the Gators 61-46. 

Sage was led by Noah Girouard with 21 points and Jackson Brown who finished with 19. In addition to his game-high 24 points Yearsley also grabbed 12 boards. Mamadou Diallo was also a huge factor on the glass collecting 12 caroms.  

Both teams are in action this Friday with Sage hosting Utica at 7:30pm and MCLA hosting Bryant & Stratton (Albany) at 6pm.