Monday night the Dons hosted Miramonte to kick off their week of 3 home games. In a highly competitive contest the Dons played some of their best basketball of the season, before finally dropping the contest 51-57 against an experienced Mats squad. It was an interesting game with a low scoring first quarter as both teams were playing tough defense and the shots were not falling either way. The Dons trailed 9-13 after the first, with Jack Bayless leading the scoring with 4 points. It was a tight second quarter with the Dons taking a lead late in the half behind 4 more from Jack, 4 from Jake Davis and a big 3 from Theo Stoll, but a late Mats 3 gave them a one point lead going into the half. 

The third quarter saw Miramonte make some adjustments early to jump out to a 10 point lead but the Dons fought back with some solid defense and rebounding (plus a bucket) from Colin Norstad, with Jake adding another 6 points, Jack another 4 and Noah Bloch hitting a 3. The all around defensive effort in the comeback was impressive with everyone showing a lot of heart to get back in this one and give the Mats just a one point lead going into the fourth. The final quarter saw the Dons again take the lead in back and forth action with Theo hitting another 3 and Jake adding 6 more, but the Mats got a few breaks and a lot of trips to the FT line to keep on top. After a great effort the last couple Dons shots didn’t fall and the contest went to Miramonte. Jake led the scoring with 18, Jack added 14 and Noah had 11 including going 8/8 from the FT line. It was a great collective effort for the spirited fans in attendance but the Mats experience just proved too much in the end. The Dons have 2 more home games Wednesday and Friday, hope to see you there.