RIVERDALE, N.Y. – Freshman guard
Daniel Wolff (Holtsville, N.Y.) nailed a three with three seconds left to force overtime, but the Mount Saint Mary College men's basketball team (4-10, 3-4 Skyline) was unable to take advantage of the extra period, falling to the College of Mount Saint Vincent (9-5, 5-2 Skyline), 74-67, Saturday afternoon.
The Knights trailed by eight points with 4:32 to play in the second half and had not led since early in the first half. The Knights kept fighting back, cutting the deficit to just two points with 1:26 left on the clock. The Knights were unable to score on their next possession, and were forced to foul with 28 ticks to go. Jose Maestre made just one-of-two free throws to push the Dolphin lead back to three. On the ensuing possession, Wolff came up clutch with a game-tying three, forcing the game to go to overtime.
Mount Saint Mary struck first in the extra frame, as Wolff sank a layup on the Knights' first possession. The home team then stole the momentum back, scoring the next seven points to take a five-point advantage. The Knights got one back on a free throw, but the Dolphins scored another six in a row to take a commanding 10-point lead. Wolff hit one more three with 14 seconds left, but there was not enough time for the Knights to comeback again.
Wolff turned in the best performance of the year for the Knights, scoring 26 points, including five three-pointers, and pulling down nine rebounds. He also dished out a pair of assists and blocked a shot. Freshman forward
Gerard Nocera (Holmdel, N.J.) turned in a 17-point effort, while sophomore forward
Alex Smith (Marlboro, N.Y.) grabbed a team-leading 11 boards. Sophomore guard
Connor Nicholson (Staten Island, N.Y.) handed out a game-high five assists.
Jamir Ferebee led Mount Saint Vincent with 16 points, while Ammad Alkhulaidi recorded a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Kahlil Shorter and Kyle Beckmann each tallied 10 points off the bench.
The Knights outrebounded their hosts, 56-49. The Dolphins' bench provided a significant boost, outscoring the Knight reserves, 29-11. Mount Saint Vincent took advantage of 24 Knight turnovers with 19 points.
The Knights return to work on Tuesday, Jan. 20, when they travel to Throggs Neck, N.Y. to take on Maritime College in Skyline Conference action. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Follow the Knights on Twitter
@MSMCKnights
