NEWBURGH, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College men's basketball team (4-8, 3-2 Skyline) faced off with Sarah Lawrence College (1-11, 0-6 Skyline) in Skyline Conference action for the first time, and defeated the visiting Gryphons by a score of 83-63 Monday evening at the Kaplan Center.
The one-win Gryphons played efficiently against the Knights in the first half, executing a stingy defense and making all 10 of their free-throw attempts in the opening frame. Sarah Lawrence took the lead four different times in the middle of the first half, but the Knights turned up the heat late with a 12-0 run after trailing 20-18. The Knights maintained a comfortable eight-point lead heading into halftime.
The Knights came out of the locker room looking like a completely different team. Sophomore guard
Connor Nicholson (Staten Island, N.Y.) drained a three, and then sank a layup on the following Knight possession. Freshman guard
Daniel Wolff (Holtsville, N.Y.) then nailed a three of his own to double the halftime lead at 51-35. Nicholson scored the next four points for the Knights, leaving them up, 55-40, with 15:53 still left to play. The Knight lead never dipped below 13 points for the remainder of the game, improving to as many as 25 points in the final minutes.
Nicholson shot 8-of-10 from the field and 3-of-4 from three-point range to pace the Knights with a career-best 19 points Monday evening. He also dished out three assists and picked up three steals. Wolff was right behind him with 18 points, including four threes. He also grabbed five rebounds, and matched Nicholson with three assists. Junior forward
Jason Oder (Levittown, N.Y.) came off the bench to lead all players with six boards.
Jeff Jordan II led the Gryphons with 14 points. Graham Gilleran and Stevan Radosavljevic followed with 13 points apiece. Gilleran, Wyatt Rocheleau and Ege Ozcan all matched with five rebounds to lead Sarah Lawrence.
The Knights shot 53.2 percent from the field and matched their season-high with 33 field goals. They also set a new season best with 12 three-pointers on the evening. The Knights got themselves in foul trouble throughout the game, leading to a season-high 18 free throws made for the Gryphons.
The Gryphons outrebounded the Knights, 34-31, but the Knights forced 23 giveaways, while turning the ball over just 12 times. The turnovers made an enormous difference in the game, as the Knights converted 31 points off takeaways, while the Gryphons scored just 10.
The Knights begin a three-game road trip on Thursday, Jan. 15, when they take on SUNY College at Old Westbury in Skyline Conference play. The game is set to tip off at 7 p.m.
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