NEWBURGH, N.Y. – Despite a monstrous effort from sophomore Kevin Milella (Floral Park, N.Y.), the Mount Saint Mary College men's basketball team let slip a golden opportunity against first-place SUNY College at Old Westbury on Saturday, eventually falling by a score of 58-53. The Blue Knights tumbled to 10-13 overall (9-9 Skyline), while the Panthers (17-6, 15-3 Skyline) maintained their grip on first place.

With the game tied at 43 and less than four minutes to go in the game, Old Westbury senior Hakiem George (New York, N.Y.) knocked down a momentum-changing three-pointer. Mount Saint Mary turned the ball over on their ensuing possession and senior Kristopher Afum (Bronx, N.Y.) converted on the fast break to make the score, 48-43.

Freshman Lenny Ragaglia (Staten Island, N.Y.) answered with a three-pointer, his first of the game, to bring the Blue Knights back to within two, but Old Westbury senior Bill Reese (Selma, Ala.) splashed a three at the other end to push it back to five. With Mount Saint Mary forced to foul down the stretch, the Panthers made 7-of-8 free throws and went on to prevail, 58-53.

It was a bitter pill to swallow for the Blue Knights, especially after the way they played in the early going. Mount Saint Mary was all over the Panthers out of the gates, jumping out to a 12-2 lead. Milella and sophomore Carlos Valdez (Slate Hill, N.Y.) were dominant in the first half, combining for 17 of the team's 24 points. However, Old Westbury closed the half on an 8-3 run to make the halftime score, 24-23.

Junior Matt Weinberger (Washingtonville, N.Y.) kicked off the second half with a pair of nice feeds to Valdez and junior Tim Morris (Greenwich, N.Y.), allowing the Blue Knights to push the lead back to five. Old Westbury continued to stick around though, and a layup by Reese at the 10:54 mark completed a 7-0 run that gave the Panthers their first lead of the night (35-34).

The story of the night was foul trouble for Valdez. The sophomore collected his third foul with 5:39 remaining in the first half and his fourth foul just three minutes into the second stanza. He didn't return until the 8:22 mark and then fouled out with just under a minute to play. Valdez, who played just 22 minutes, was whistled for four offensive fouls and a loose ball foul

For Milella, it was his most complete performance of the season. The sophomore finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while shooting 7-of-8 from the floor. Valdez totaled 11 points and 9 boards, while Weinberger and Morris each reached double figures with 10. It was a very difficult night for the sharp-shooting Ragaglia – he finished 1-for-11 from three-point range.

George led the Panthers with 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting. Afum tallied 11 points and Reese chipped in with 10. Old Westbury, who shot just 32.8-percent from the field, was able to overcome a poor shooting night by committing just 10 turnovers.

Mount Saint Mary faces their biggest game of the season next Thursday when they'll host Yeshiva University. The Blue Knights will need a victory to remain alive in the Skyline Conference playoff picture. The game is scheduled for an 8:00 p.m. tip in the Kaplan Center.