NEWBURGH, NY – The Mount Saint Mary College men's basketball team lost both games at the Marymount University Holiday Tournament this weekend. The Blue Knights dropped an 83-64 decision to Cabrini College in the opening round of the tournament and then lost, 65-63, to Mount Aloysius College in the consolation game. Mount Saint Mary is now 2-7 on the season.

The Blue Knights fell behind early in the game against Cabrini and never recovered. Leading 6-4 after the opening three minutes, Mount Saint Mary allowed the Cavaliers to go on a 16-0 run over the course of the next four minutes. The Blue Knights trailed by as many as twenty-three in the first half and went in to the locker room facing a seventeen point deficit (44-27).

Behind the strong play of senior Chris Harrison (Baldwin, N.Y.) and freshman Carlos Valdez (Slate Hill, N.Y.), the Mount was able to cut the lead to eleven near the midpoint of the second half. A comeback wasn't to be, however, as the Cavaliers scored nine of the next ten points to put the game out of reach.

Harrison finished with a game-high 21 points and also pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds. Valdez finished with 17 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists. Junior Kevin Misevicius (Allentown, Pa.) led four players in double figures for the Cavaliers with 17 points. Junior Chris Blake (San Francisco, Calif.) had 14 points and 9 boards.

In the consolation game, Mount Saint Mary allowed another big first-half run. Down 20-16 with seven minutes to play in the opening half, the Blue Knights yielded Mount Aloysius a 16-4 run to close the half and trailed 36-20 at the break.

This time, the Mount had a comeback effort in the tank, rallying with a 22-8 run to trail 46-44 with just over ten minutes to play. The Blue Knights had several chances to tie in the closing minutes, but could never find the equalizing bucket. Mount Aloysius escaped with a 65-63 victory.

Harrison scored 21 points for the second straight game, once again leading all scorers. He also grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds. Sophomore Matt Weinberger (Washingtonville, N.Y.) had 13 points and 6 assist while senior Alex Kuchar (Rutherford, N.J.) had 12 points.

Mount Aloysius was led by 15 points and 10 rebounds from junior Richard McNutt (Ellesmere Port, England) and 15 points and 9 rebounds from junior Brian Collins (Fort Washington, Md.). Junior Tyrone Lowery (Suitland, Md.) had 12 points and 11 rebounds off the bench for the Mounties.

After returning from Virginia, Mount Saint Mary has several days off before facing a return to Skyline Conference play and Farmingdale State College. The Blue Knights host the Rams on Saturday, January 10 at 1:00 p.m.