TROY, N.Y. - Sophomore forward Carlos Valdez (Slate Hill, N.Y.) led all scorers with 22 points and rallied Mount Saint Mary College down the stretch, but it wasn't enough as the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute escaped with an 85-80 non-conference victory on Tuesday evening.  The Blue Knights fell to 1-4 overall.

A back and forth battle opened the second half as the Engineers used the momentum of a 39-26 halftime lead to its advantage. Matching the visitors' basket for basket through the first seven minutes, RPI opened a 21-point lead at 13:04, which included baskets in three straight possessions from junior guard Travis Jones (East Greenbush, N.Y.).

Rensselaer continued to hold a double-digit advantage throughout the majority of the half, but saw its lead cut significantly as the Blue Knights went on an 11-2 run at the 7:47 mark to pull Mount Saint Mary to within six points (68-62) with 5:55 remaining.

Junior guard Matt Weinberger (Washingtonville, N.Y.) hit a jumper at 3:34 to make it a 73-69 contest, but the Engineers continued to fight back, regaining an 11-point advantage (80-69) with just 1:42 remaining off Jones' shot from three-point range.

Valdez was able to make it a five-point game with just 34 seconds remaining, but that was as close as it would get as Rensselaer took advantage of late fouls and Bull's excellent shots from the line to secure the victory.

The start of the game was a slow one as each team fought to establish a rhythm. The Engineers picked up the momentum at 14:02 after senior Tim Rupp sank a three-pointer for a solid 11-5 lead. Despite a number of opportunities for the Blue Knights, the Engineers continued to out-rebound the visitors and saw junior Mike Brion (Nashua, NH/Bishop Guertin) hit a number of shots down the stretch to lead all scorers with nine first-half points.

In addition to Jones, who was 6 for 6 from the floor and 3 for 3 from beyond the arc, Rensselaer saw Bull (Woodbridge, Va.), Rupp, and Jeremy Colon (Manchester, N.H.) finish with 10 points apiece. As a team, the Engineers were a solid 60.0% from the free throw line, going 15 of 25 for the game.

Mount Saint Mary saw Valdez record a game-best 13 rebounds in addition to his game-high 22 points. Weinberger posted 13 points, while junior Chuck Magos (Port Jervis, N.Y.) also added 13 points. The Blue Knights shot a solid 51.7% from the field in the contest and were 6-of-9 (66.7%) from beyond the arc.

The Mount returns to action next week as they'll travel to Purchase College on December 1.