Box Score NEWBURGH, N.Y. – Mount Saint Mary College senior Carlos Valdez (Carolina, Puerto Rico) threw down a pair of second half dunks to add the exclamation point to a 78-44 non-conference victory over Bard College on Tuesday evening in the Kaplan Center.  The Knights (3-1) have now won three games in a row, while the Raptors drop to 1-3.

The Knights trailed in the early going and a three-pointer from Bard junior Frank Stortini (Red Hook, N.Y.) at the 17:34 mark gave the Raptors an 8-4 advantage.  Mount Saint Mary would be quick to answer, however, and rattled off the next nine points to seize a 13-8 lead.  The Knights continued to stretch the margin with a 10-0 run to close the half.  Sophomore Joe Stabach (Staten Island, N.Y.) hit back-to-back buckets to send the Mount to the locker room with a 31-16 cushion.

Bard closed to within 11 as freshman Siondueh Burnette (Lakeville, Mass.) finished off a three-point play with 17:34 remaining in the contest.  The Knights would answer again, though, this time with a 12-0 run that made the score 45-22.  Following a steal by sophomore Chris Pisciotta (New Hyde Park, N.Y.), Valdez highlighted the run with a breakaway dunk at the 16:13 mark.

The second dunk from Valdez would come with 7:45 to play and pushed the lead to 30.  Sophomore Anthony Cipriano (Staten Island, N.Y.) created a turnover near midcourt, passed it off, and then received the ball back just inside the three-point line.  From there, he lobbed a pass to the back side of the rim where Valdez caught it and jammed it home.

Valdez would finish with his third straight double-double (12 points, 12 rebounds) to go along with two assists, a block, and steals.  Senior Kevin Milella (Floral Park, N.Y.) joined him at 12 points, while sophomore Joe Stabach (Staten Island, N.Y.) also reached double figures with 10.

The defense was stellar for Mount Saint Mary as they forced 29 Bard turnovers and limited the Raptors to just 34.1% from the field.  Meanwhile, the Knights connected at 49.2% from the floor.

Riding a three-game winning streak, the Mount hits Skyline Conference play on Thursday with a road trip to Purchase College, the defending Skyline champions.  The opening tip is set for 7:00 p.m. in Purchase, N.Y.