NEW LONDON, Conn. — The Pratt Insitute men's basketball team heads into the new year with a level .500 record following a 76-63 setback in the Constitution State to Mitchell College on Saturday afternoon.
Senior Patrick O'Gorman paced the offense with a game-high 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting with five assists and four rebounds. First-year Cameron Windt netted 10 points with pairs of triples, rebounds and assists. Eight different Cannoneers recorded a field goal in defeat with Ace Bibbs and Mekhi Davis chipping in nine points apiece, Bibbs also pulling down five boards.
The Mariners used an early 16-4 run to open a double-digit lead just before the midway point of the first half, 18-8, and remained ahead the rest of the way, taking a 40-28 lead into the lockers.
After trailing by as many as 15 early in the second, Pratt whittled the lead down to six off a 9-0 run powered by four from O'Gorman and capped off by five from Davis, to trail 50-44 with 13:51 to play.
Mitchell extended their lead back to 12 before the Cannoners used a 6-0 spurt to pull back within six, 61-55, but that would be the closest the black-and-gold could get.
Pratt protected the rock for a season-low 12 turnovers but the hosts committed just seven miscues and finished with a 20-9 edge in scoring off turnovers. The Cannoneers also outshot the Mariners 45 percent to 41 percent, but managed to connect on just five three-pointers after averaging double-digit treys in each of the victories in the streak.
The hosts also won the battle of the boards with a 45-29 edge, pulling down 20 on the offensive glass, led by Robert Zirlis' 17-point, 13-rebound double-double. Jaylyn Clardy finished with a 19-point, 12-assists double-double and Dontae Pollard finished one carom shy of a third double-double with 16 points and nine rebounds.
Pratt carries a 6-6 mark into the new year and travels to Suffolk County to face St. Joseph's University-Long Island on Thursday, January 5, 2024 for a 7 p.m. showdown.
