ORANGEBURG, N.Y. – The Mansfield Mountaineers men's basketball team (2-2) competed in a road clash with Dominican University of New York (4-0) in nonconference action on Monday night, as the Chargers narrowly escaped with a 92-88 overtime battle.
The Ali brothers combined for 48 points on the night, with Saraj Ali scoring his career high 26 points and posted his first career back-to-back double-doubles with ten rebounds. Idris Ali scored 22 points and grabbed five rebounds.
Manir Waller picked up his first double-double of the season, scoring 16 points and earning 13 rebounds on the night.
Dominican broke out to an early 21-11 start on their home court, setting an early momentum boost.
The Mounties exploded over the next eight minutes, with a 20-5 dominant offensive output to take the 31-26 lead with five minutes left in the half. I. Ali picked up seven points himself during the run.
As halftime started, the Chargers held a narrow 36-35 lead going into the final half, but Mansfield owned the momentum after their dominance in the paint with 28.
The Ali brothers combined to score 19 of the Mounties first half points.
A hard-fought battle broke out to start the second, with six lead changes in the first five minutes, but the host held a slight 52-48 advantage.
Mansfield kept the game competitive as Dominican led by a single possession in a 63-60 battle with ten minutes remaining. S. Ali scored six of the next seven points to even up the score at 67.
After an I. Ali three pointer gave the Mounties the 70-67 hold and their first lead in ten minutes of action, the team looked poised to spoil the undefeated record of the opponent.
But as the teams passed four lead changes, the Chargers regained the lead with two minutes remaining, holding the 80-78 advantage.
With 28 seconds remaining, Julian Wilson grabbed an inbound pass and put away the game tying bucket to tie up the thriller at 80. The Mounties defended off the final possession to send the non-conference battle to overtime.
Waller scored all eight for the Mounties in overtime, but it proved not enough as the Chargers used their home field court advantage to steal the 92-88 victory.
UP NEXT:
The Mounties open Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East-West crossover action with their 2023-24 home opener versus Clarion on December 1. Their first battle in Decker Gymnasium will tip-off at 5 p.m.
