Newburgh, N.Y. - Led by 20 points from senior Jason Cardez (Ridgewood, N.Y.), Mount Saint Mary College placed six players in double figures on their way to a 90-83 victory over Polytechnic University in Skyline Conference action Tuesday night at the Kaplan Center. The Mount improved to 8-5 overall and 5-1 inside the Skyline, while Polytechnic dropped to 3-7 overall and 1-3 inside the conference.

What was a very well-played game for the first thirty-nine minutes and fifty-six seconds turned ugly in the final four ticks of the clock. With the Mount leading 85-83 and attempting to inbound the ball with 3.5 seconds to play, an intentional foul was called on Polytechnic as they tried to create a steal. The intentional foul sent MSMC junior Alex Kuchar (Rutherford, N.J.) to the line, where he buried a pair of free throws. During Kuchar's free throw attempts, tempers flared on the Polytechnic bench and the head coach was hit with a technical foul. At the line for another pair of free throws, Kuchar converted one-of-two to give the Mount an 88-83 lead. Still with lots of unrest on the Polytechnic bench, senior guard Tyree Williams (Philadelphia, Pa.) was given a flagrant foul and ejected from the ball game. That sent Kuchar back to the line once again, where he knocked home two more attempts for a 90-83 cushion, the final margin of the contest.

The game had been a very entertaining one for the first thirty-nine minutes, with both teams lighting up the score board. With the Mount leading 45-42 at half time, the teams traded buckets for the first three minutes of the half. A jumper from Polytechnic freshman Arjun Ohri (Birdgewater, N.Y.) at 16:30 tied the game at 50, and a three-pointer from Ohri at 15:08 gave the Blue Jays their first lead (55-52) since a free throw at the beginning of the game.

Now trailing 60-58 with 13:58 to play, Mount Saint Mary junior Chris Harrison (Baldwin, N.Y.) hit a lay-up to tie the game at 13:29. Cardez forced a turnover on the ensuing possession but missed a lay-up and freshman Matt Weinberger (Washingtonville, N.Y.) grabbed the offensive rebound before being fouled. Weinberger drained two from the charity stripe to make the score 62-60, and the Blue Knights would not trail again for the remainder of the game.

Polytechnic would cut the lead to one (75-74) with 4:42 remaining as Williams converted a three-point play, but Cardez had the answer. Kuchar found the senior all alone in the corner and he drilled a triple to give the Mount a four point lead (78-74). The Blue Jays got back within one with twenty-six seconds remaining, as Williams found Ohri all alone under the basket for an easy lay-up to make it 82-81 in favor of the Blue Knights. Weinberger hit a pair of free throws, though, and after a Polytechnic turnover, Cardez hit 1-of-2 from the line for a four point advantage. Polytechnic freshman Thomas DeMarco (Salt Lake City, Utah) hit an uncontested lay-up to make the score 85-83 before the end-game fireworks went off.

Cardez connected on 5-of-8 attempts from long range and tied Polytechnic's Ohri for the game-high with 20 points. Weinberger finished with 18 points and 4 assists, while Kuchar wound up with 13 points and 7 assists. Freshman Tim Morris (Greenwich, N.Y.) played very well in the high post for the Blue Knights and finished with 16 points, one shy of his career high. Harrison had 12 points and 8 rebounds before fouling out.

Ohri shot 8-of-18 from the field and had 7 rebounds to go along with his 20 points. Freshman Jason Buckner (Littleton, Colo.) posted a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. DeMarco finished with 15 points and Williams had a game-high 9 assists in addition to 8 points.

Up next for the Mount is a trip to the College of Mount Saint Vincent. The Blue Knights will take on the Dolphins on Saturday, January 12, beginning at 12:00 p.m. in Riverdale, N.Y. Polytechnic hosts Farmingdale on Thursday, January 10 beginning at 8:00 p.m.