Senior Tavon Sledge (Spring Valley, N.Y.) tallied a double-double with 27 points and 10 assists as the eighth-ranked Albertus Magnus men's basketball team cruised to a 119-88 win over Mitchell College on Thursday night in New Haven.
The Falcons improve to 2-1 with the non-league victory, while the Mariners fall to 1-2 on the year.
The Falcons' 42-game home winning streak is currently the longest in all Divisions of men's basketball in the NCAA.
Sledge and the Falcons registered 68 of their 119 points in the paint, including 30 on fast breaks, while Albertus controlled the contest. The Falcons finished shooting 54.8% from the field and were 12-of-30 (40%) from behind the arc.
The Falcons' 119 points marked the second-most ever scored in a single game in program history. Back on Dec. 4, 2008, Albertus defeated Mt. St. Mary on the road 120-109 in overtime for the most points scored ever by the Falcons.
Victor Ljuljdjuraj (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) added 18 points and seven rebounds to go along with three blocked shots in 18 minutes of play. Eian Davis (Brooklyn, N.Y.) scored 12 points to go along with nine assists.
Off the bench, Kyle Wiggins (Milford, Conn.) hit 4-of-6 from three-point land to finish the contest with 12 points, while 15 of the Falcons 18 players scored in the 119-point effort.
After leading 18-13 with 15:10 on the clock in the opening frame, the Falcons outscored Mitchell 32-7 in a 10-minute span to take a commanding 50-20 lead on a three-point play by Jaqhawn Walters (Hartford, Conn.).
At intermission the Falcons led 55-33 thanks to 14 points from Sledge.
Both teams traded baskets to open the second half of play, while Mitchell cut into the Albertus lead, getting to within 23 points before the Falcons took a 37-point lead midway through the frame thanks to a lay-up by Julian Sanders (Trumbull, Conn.).
The Falcons led by as many as 39 points with 3:34 on the clock as Chaunce Dunbar (Windsor, Conn.) knocked down a three pointer.
Parris Hill tallied a double-double for Mitchell with 24 points and 10 rebounds, while Donavan McClean shot 10-of-21 from the floor for a team-high 27 points.
The Mariners, who earned their first-ever automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament last season by winning the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Championship title, shot just 39.5% from the floor and 7.7% (1-of-13) from behind the arc.
Under the leadership of head coach Mitch Oliver, the Falcons have never lost to Mitchell College. In fact, the Falcons last loss to the Mariners was back on February 8, 2007.
The Falcons will now play SUNY-Purchase in a rematch of the 2014 NCAA Second Round contest. Last season, the Falcons defeated the Panthers twice on the year with identical 87-79 scores. That game is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 25 at 7:00 p.m. in Purchase, N.Y.
