Balanced Attack Leads Men’s Basketball to Overtime Thrilling Win at Mt. Ida, 87-84

NEWTON, Mass. – Thomas Duffy scored 21 points, including the go-ahead three-pointer with 1:20 remaining in overtime, to lift the Suffolk men's basketball team to an 87-84 overtime win over Mount Ida Saturday afternoon at the Mustangs' Athletic Center. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 87, Mt. Ida 84
RECORDS: Suffolk (14-11, 9-7 GNAC) | Mt. Ida (10-15, 4-12 GNAC) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
A game that featured 14 lead changes and 13 ties saw the Rams jump out to an early four-point advantage before the Mustangs grabbed a 40-38 edge at the break on a lay-in by Joey DeFillippi in the final second of the first frame. 

Suffolk broke a 48-all score with a 16-6 run over a 5:14 stretch gave the Rams a 64-54 advantage with 11:23 to play in regulation. Mt. Ida climbed back and took a 71-70 edge with just under five minutes on the clock when Jayson Clark's jumper ended a 17-6 run by the Mustangs. 

The two teams traded the lead on three ensuing possessions before a free throw from Mt. Ida sophomore Kevin Vanderhorst put the hosts ahead 77-76 with 59 seconds to play, but Duffy kept the Rams liave with a free throw just nine seconds later. 

Two Mt. Ida turnovers sandwiched a Suffolk missed jumper to close out regulation and neither squad connected on their first seven combined possessions of the extra frame before Duffy's go-ahead trey with 80 seconds to play. 

Clark's freebie cut the Rams' margin to two, but Suffolk extended its cushion to five, 84-79, on a set of free throws from Duffy with 18 seconds left. 

A Vanderhorst lay-up made it a one possession game for the hosts, but Jim Djema turned it into a two-possession game once again with a free throw with 12 seconds to go. John Oliver kept things interesting as the senior converted on a three-point with five seconds left to cut it to one, 85-84, with five seconds left. Junior Michael Hagopian accounted for the final margin for the Rams with a set of free throws that came with three seconds remaining, as DeFillippi's game-tying attempt from half court hit the back of the rim as time expired. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Duffy paced five Rams in double figures with a game-high 21 points behind a 7-for-16 effort from the floor, 2-for-4 performance from downtown and a 5-for-7 showing at the charity stripe. He added six boards, three assists and one steal.
• Djema produced 17 points for the blue-and-gold, shooting 5-for-9 from the field, 2-for-4 behind-the-arc and 5-for-6 at the free throw line. His offense output went along with a game-best eight dimes, four caroms and one steal.
• Off the bench, Grillakis contributed 15 points on a 70 percent (7-10) connection rate to go along with five handouts, five steals and four boards.
• Hagopian and Kevin Querusio rounded out the Rams in double digits with 13 points and 10 points, respectively.  
• Suffolk put together a 51.6 percentage (32-62) effort from the field, 42.9 percentage (9-21) from three-point land and 77.8 percentage (14-18) at the line.
• Mt. Ida out rebounded the Rams, 49-32. 

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk swept Mt. Ida in its regular season series for the third time overall and first since the 2014 slate.
• The Rams coupled back-to-back wins in the all-time series with the Mustangs for the first time since rattling off five consecutive wins Feb. 14, 2012-Feb. 11, 2014.
• With its 14th victory of the season, Suffolk has won the most games since going 17-10 in 2001-02. 
• Suffolk finished the conference season 9-7, which marks the most league victories since going 9-9 in conference contests in 2005-06.
• Suffolk played in its first overtime game in the Jeff Juron era and first extra session game since
• The Rams played in their first overtime contests since taking down Rivier, 79-70, in OT Jan. 8, 2015.
• The Rams and Mustangs went into overtime for the first time in the all-time series.
• For the first time since Dec. 12, 2014, an 80-58 win over Norwich, Suffolk saw five players contribute 10-plus points in Duffy (21), Hagopian (13), Querusio (10), Djema (17) and Grillakis (15).
• Duffy (21), Djema (17) and Grillakis (15) all notched 15 points or more to become the first trio of Rams to drop 15 points or more in one game since Feb. 3, 2016, an 81-70 setback at Anna Maria, when Matt Duquette (18), Jake Meister (19) and Caleb Unni (28) did so.
• Duffy notched 20-plus points for the 10th time this season.
• Hagopian tallied double figures for the 17th time year.
• Querusio surpassed 10 points for just the third time this season.
• Djema had 10 more points for the seventh time and matched a career-high eight assists.
• Grillakis matched a personal-best in points with 15, which marks his eighth game in double figures and third straight. 

POST-GAME PIC

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk will be back in action Tuesday, Feb. 20 for the GNAC Quarterfinals. The Rams await their seeding to find out their opponent, game location and time.