NEWBURGH, N.Y. - In an early season battle for first place in the Skyline Conference, the Mount Saint Mary College men's basketball team dropped a 65-56 decision to St. Joseph's College in Patchogue, New York on Saturday. The Golden Eagles improved to 6-1 overall (3-0 conference) and snapped the two-game winning streak of the Blue Knights (3-5 overall, 2-1 Skyline).

St. Joseph's led by two (31-29) after a back and forth first half that featured five ties and four lead changes. A jumper by junior Tim Morris (Greenwich, N.Y.) on the Mount's opening possession of the second half tied the game at 31, but the Golden Eagles answered with an 8-0 run. Sophomore Chris Jiminez (Huntington Station, N.Y.) and senior Matt Weeks (Hampton Bays, N.Y.) hit back-to-back three-pointers to give St. Joseph's a 39-31 edge.

Back-to-back buckets by sophomore Kevin Milella (Floral Park, N.Y.) brought the Blue Knights back to within five at the 14:11 mark, but it would be as close as the Mount would get for the remainder of the contest. The Golden Eagles put the game away with a 16-7 run over the course of the next seven minutes and cruised to the nine point victory.

Mount Saint Mary sophomore Carlos Valdez (Slate Hill, N.Y.) led all scorers with 17 points and also pulled down 7 boards. Freshman Lenny Ragaglia (Staten Island, N.Y.) was the next highest man for the Blue Knights, totaling 15 points on the strength of 4-for-8 from downtown. Milella matched the rebound total of Valdez and also chipped in 8 points.

Sophomore Shahab Syed (Huntington, N.Y.) led the Golden Eagles with 15 points. St Joseph's also received 10 points each from senior Sean Hyde (Shirley, N.Y.) and sophomore Olivier Laurent (Amityville, N.Y.).

The Blue Knights will travel to Sage for their next scheduled contest. The game with the Gators will feature a pair of first-year head coaches and is set for a 7:00 p.m. tip on Wednesday, December 9.