NEW LONDON, Conn. – Led by 28 points from senior Kevin Alvarez and 23 points from sophomore Micah Baldez Coast Guard beat cross town rival Mitchell 97-89 in nonconference action.

The Bears improve to 3-1 on the season and undefeated at home while the Mariners drop to 1-3 on the year.

The 28 points was a season high for Alvarez who shot 9-21 from the floor, 3-8 from beyond the arc, and chipped in eight rebounds. Baldez was 5 of 7 from the field and did most of his damage from the free throw line making 12 of 14. The 23 points was a career best for Baldez along with a career high six assists. Sophomore Devon Zych registered a game high 11 rebounds while freshman Nolan Benson notched a career high in points and rebound scoring ten points and grabbing seven boards.

Mitchell was led by four players in double figures. Senior Frank Martin had a team high 25 points, seven rebounds, and a game high three steals. Sophomore Brayvon Young had 19 points making six three pointers. Sophomore Alan Morgan scored 14 points and freshman Domenico Santiago added 13 points off the bench.

 It was a tight game early on as a layup by Santiago made the score 14-14 with 12:56 left in the first period.

The Mariners then went on a 14-6 run to take a 28-20 lead capped off by a three pointer by freshman Samad Jones with just under nine minutes to go in the half.

Mitchell continued to add to their lead, extending it to 11 at 35-24 as Young found Morgan for a layup at the 7:45 mark.

The Bears chipped away at the Mariners lead and brought the deficit to one right before the half ended as Alvarez sunk two from the charity stripe making the halftime score 47-46 Mitchell.

It was all Coast Guard at the start of the second half as they came out on a 22-8 run giving the Bears a 68-55 lead with just over 13 minutes left to go in the game.

Coast Guard continued to press and took control of the game when Alvarez picked off senior Donavan McClean and made a quick pass to Baldez who found senior Mark Krebs under the basket for the easy layup and a 19 point Bears lead with 9:16 on the clock.

The Mariners would get no closer than 10 the rest of the way as Coast Guard posted a 97-89 victory over Mitchell. This was also the Bears ninth win in eleven tries against the Mariners and second in a row.

Coast Guard shot 44.9% (31-69) from the floor and 8-21 (38.1%) from three. The Bears out rebounded Mitchell 58-31 and held an advantage in the paint outscoring Mitchell 26-22.

The Mariners were 30-75 (40%) overall and shot 33.3% (12-36) from beyond the arc. Mitchell was able to force 11 more Coast Guard turnovers (28-17) but could not turn that into an advantage on the scoreboard.

The Bears are back in action this weekend at the Camel Cadet classic where they will play Fisher Saturday night at 8:00 and then on Sunday will host Maine Presque Isle at 4:00.