NEWTON, Mass. – With under eight minutes to play in regulation, Cameron Powers was behind a Suffolk men's basketball comeback that put the Rams within eight of the Mustangs, but Mt. Ida held off the blue-and-gold down the stretch to take the 74-63 GNAC victory inside the MIC Athletic Center Saturday afternoon.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 63, Mt. Ida 74
RECORDS: Suffolk (3-9, 2-3 GNAC) | Mt. Ida (8-4, 4-1 GNAC)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
George Grillakis opened up the scoring to get the game going and put Suffolk out in front. The Rams' lead would only last a 1:12 span, however, as Mt. Ida began to pick up the pace and grabbed the edge on a Jayson Clark layup.  

From there, the Mustangs quickly went ahead by double digits, 21-11. That advantage quickly blossomed to the hosts' largest of the half (18 points), 34-17, with 6:42 before halftime.  

Suffolk began its way back thanks to finesse on freebies. A traditional three-point by Steven DiPrizio jump started things as the Rams followed with a perfect performance at the charity stripe down the stretch, going 10-for-10. The stellar free throw shooting combined with a trey from Quinn McCartney cut the deficit to 44-29 at the half.  

McCartney picked up where he left on in the second stanza as the senior forward made it a 13-point game thanks to a good layup. The Mustangs rebuilt an 18-point lead, but the Rams continued to rally slowly chipping away at Mt. Ida's edge.  

Powers proved to be the main ingredient of Suffolk hanging with the Mustangs down the stretch. The freshman reserve went off on a 7-2 run himself to make it a nine-point game, 67-58. 

With 2:25 remaining in regulation, Powers struck again with his second triple of the afternoon to make it an eight-point margin. The Mustangs pushed things back to 11 points thanks to a set of freebies from Ethan Dujon at the 1:57 mark. 

Neither team added to their total down the stretch as the score held at 74-63 in Mt. Ida's favor. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Grillakis led Suffolk's charge with a 15-point effort to go with six assists, three boards and to takeaways. The freshman was perfect at the line, 6-for-6, and shot 4-of-11 from the field on the day. 
• DiPrizio and McCartney provided 13 points apiece. DiPrizio's performance went along with 12 rebounds, eight of which came on the defensive end, and a superb showing at the foul line, shooting 9-for-12. McCartney, meanwhile, pulled down two rebounds and added one steal and one block. 
• Powers rounded out the Rams in double figures with 10 points on a 2-of-3 showing from the field, all behind the arc, and 4-for-5 effort at the line.  

NOTABLES

• Grillakis put together a career-best in points (15) and assists. 
• Powers had a career-day in scoring with his 10-point effort all that came within the last 7:57 of action. 
• DiPrizio registered his fifth double-double of the season and of his career.  

POST-GAME PIC
 

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk is back at home under the roof of Regan Gymnasium for a Tuesday (Jan. 10) tilt against Rivier. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.