On Monday night, the Mansfield Mountaineers men’s basketball team faced off against Dominican University of New York in non-conference action. The game was a close call, with the Chargers narrowly escaping with a 92-88 overtime victory.
The Ali brothers were instrumental in the Mounties’ success, scoring a combined total of 48 points on the night. Saraj Ali set a new career high with 26 points and added another double-digit rebound performance with ten rebounds. Idris Ali also contributed 22 points and five rebounds to the team’s efforts. Both brothers are graduates of Loyalsock High School.
Manir Waller had a standout game as well, earning his first double-double of the season with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Dominican got off to an early lead, scoring 21 points in the first half before Mansfield mounted a comeback with a dominant offensive output over the next eight minutes. During this run, Idris Ali scored seven points himself and helped lead the Mounties to take a slim lead going into halftime.
The second half was just as competitive as the first, with six lead changes in the first five minutes before Dominican managed to hold onto a slight advantage going into overtime. Mansfield kept pushing back though, tying things up at 67 before eventually winning by four in overtime thanks to Saraj Ali’s clutch performance down the stretch.