NEWBURGH, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College men's basketball team (2-7) shot a season-high 59.1 percent (26-of-44) from the field to pick up an 80-73 non-conference victory over Marywood University (5-2) Tuesday evening at the Kaplan Center.
Freshman guard
Tyler McDine (Suffern, N.Y.) went 6-for-8 (75 percent) from the field and 7-of-10 from the free-throw line to lead the Knights with a season-high 20 points. He made all six of his jumpers, including a three-pointer. He also tied for the team highs with five boards, three assists and two steals.
The Knights caught fire right out of the gate, opening the game on an 8-0 run. They improved the lead to 15-4 on a three by freshman guard
Daniel Wolff (Holtsville, N.Y.) just over five minutes in, but the Pacers started to figure out their game. They cut the deficit to just four after a 9-2 stretch, but Knights were able to get the lead back to twelve on a trey by junior forward
Jason Oder (Levittown, N.Y.) with 7:11 left in the first half.
Later in the period, a 34-26 lead for the Knights quickly turned into a 38-38 tie after another hot stretch by the visitors. Junior guard
Stephen Steyer (Staten Island, N.Y.) quickly ran down the court and sank a layup, but Jeremy Ringland turned it around in the final 30 seconds to drain a long three for the Pacers to give them a 41-40 lead heading into the break.
The momentum stayed in Marywood's favor early in the second frame, as they pulled out to a 50-42 lead in the first two minutes. The Knights regained their composure from that point on, eventually tying the game at 55 apiece. The Mount took a 57-55 lead on a jumper by sophomore guard
Connor Nicholson (Staten Island, N.Y.), and rallied to take a five-point lead, but the Pacers took control back of the game and tied it at 64-64.
With time running thin, the Knights fell behind, 70-66, but McDine turned the tables with a big three to get the Knights back within a point. Nicholson drove hard through the lane to draw a foul on the Knights, next possession, and made both of his attempts from the charity stripe to give the Knights a 71-70 lead. The Knights held the Pacers off the board once again, allowing Nicholson to drain another jumper to put the Knights up by three. The Knights were shaky on their free throws from that point forward, but allowed just one score in the final minutes to pick up the seven-point win.
Nicholson had his best game of the year, scoring 16 points in the win. Wolff provided a nice boost as well, making three long balls and totaling 13 points.
Connor Callejas made three three-pointers for the Pacers to lead them with 12 points. Shane Letthand followed close behind with 11, while Shane Kellaher added 10.
It was the most efficient shooting game of the year for the Knights, who, in addition to shooting 59.1 percent, made 6-of-11 (54.5 percent) threes and 22-of-27 (81.5 percent) free throws.
The Knights end their losing streak at four games and close out the 2014 calendar year with a win. They will next play on Wednesday, January 7, 2015, when they host SUNY Canton at 3 p.m. in the Kaplan Center.
Follow the Knights on Twitter at
@MSMCKnights
