ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, NY – Mount Saint Mary College freshman Carlos Valdez (Slate Hill, N.Y.) led all scorers with 24 points as the men's basketball team defeated Bard, 70-62, on Thursday night. The Mount improved their record to 5-17 overall and to 5-10 in the Skyline Conference, while Bard fell to 0-20 and 0-15 in Skyline play.

The Raptors led for the entire first half and pushed their advantage to as many as seven. Just before the half, Mount Saint Mary senior Matt Cunningham (Roswell, Ga.) trimmed a six point deficit to three with a three-pointer with just 41 seconds showing on the clock. After a steal, sophomore Matt Weinberger (Washingtonville, N.Y.) banked home a breakaway lay-up to make it a one point game at the break (32-31).

Senior Alex Kuchar (Rutherford, N.J.) would give the Mount its first lead of the contest, 33-32, with a jumper in the paint just twenty-five seconds into the second half. Bard sophomore Elijah Strauss (Forest Hills, N.Y.) answered with a jumper of his own in the paint to give the Raptors back the lead, 34-33. Then, with the game tied at 40 and 17:04 showing on the clock, the Mount scored ten unanswered points to take their largest lead of the contest. Bard would close to within two around the seven minute mark, but the Blue Knights answered with the next five points to put the game out of reach.

Valdez finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds, giving him the seventh double-double of his rookie season. Cunningham chipped in with 12 points, while senior Chris Harrison (Baldwin, N.Y.) registered his ninth double-double of the season with 11 points and 13 boards. The Mount shot 46.7-percent for the second half and finished at 42.2-percent for the contest.

Senior Justin White led the Raptors with 22 points. He was 8-for-15 from the field, 5-for-8 from downtown, and connected on his only free throw attempt. His teammate, junior Adam Shear (Seattle, Wash.), chipped in with 15.

The Blue Knights will play their next game on Saturday, February 14. The Blue Knights will take on St. Joseph's College of Long Island starting at 4:30 p.m. It will be the back end of a women's and men's basketball doubleheader.