Newburgh, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College Men's Basketball team will open the 2015-16 season on Tuesday night at the Kaplan Center against local rival New Paltz. Tip-off between the Knights and the Hawks is set for 7:00 p.m. with Live Stats available for those who cannot attend the game.
 
At A Glance: Mount Saint Mary is coming off a 2014-15 season that saw it post an 8-17 overall record and a 7-11 mark in the Skyline Conference. The Knights finished the season ranked third in the Skyline Conference in three-point field goal percentage (.351), fourth in field goal percentage (.422) and tops in the league in free-throw percentage (.706). Mount Saint Mary also finished the year second in the league in three-point field goal defense after allowing opponents to convert at just a 31.5-percent clip.
 
Mount Saint Mary returns its top four scorers from last season and five of its top six scorers overall from a season ago. Sophomore Gerard Nocera (Holmdel, N.J.) paced the Knights as a freshman with 12.8 points per game, shooting 45.6-percent from the floor, and adding 3.8 rebounds per night. Classmate Daniel Wolff (Holtsville, N.Y.) led the team with 51 three-point field goals and shot 41.5-percent from distance, with Stephen Steyer (Staten Island, N.Y.) and Tyler McDine (Suffern, N.Y.) pacing the team with 27 steals apiece.
 
The Knights will be under the direction of head coach Ryan Kadlubowski who returns for his seventh season on the sidelines in Newburgh. Over his first six season, Kadlubowski has guided the Mount to a 100-64 overall record and a 76-36 conference mark. He was named the Skyline Conference Coach of the Year following the 2010-11 and 2013-14 seasons.
 
Backcourt: The 2015-16 roster features nine backcourt players, including four of the Mount's top five returning scorers from last season. Overall Wolff shot 41.6-percent from the floor and was good for 11.4 points and 5.0 rebounds during his freshman campaign. Steyer averaged 8.5 points for the Knights last season and shot 44-percent from the field to go along with 27 steals.
 
In addition to his steal total, McDine handed out a team-high 88 assists, averaging 3.5 per game, and chipped in with 7.7 points while shooting 41.9-poercent from the floor. Junior Connor Nicholson (Staten Island, N.Y.) returns after registering 9.0 points per game, hitting 31 three-point field goals and adding 33 assists.
 
Among the Skyline Conference leaders last season, Mount Saint Mary ranked fourth in the league in assists per game with just over 13, with McDine sitting fourth among the league leaders in helpers.
 
The Knights will look for contributions from returning players Austin Stewart (New Paltz, N.Y.), Lawrence Young (Chester, N.Y.), Andrew Holmes (Niskayuna, N.Y.) and Angelo Accattato (West Haverstraw, N.Y.) as well as talented newcomer Connor Bacci (Bayside, N.Y.).
 
Frontcourt: Nocera, a guard/forward for the Knights, returns after leading the team in scoring as a freshman and ranking fourth in the final league standings in scoring in 2014-15. He also paced the Knights in field goal percentage.
 
Jason Oder (Levittown, N.Y.) returns after appearing in 23 games and averaging 3.0 points per contest along with Owen Heath (Jamestown, R.I.) who posted 2.2 points in 23 games,  Jason Jones (Lansdale, Pa.) who appeared in 23 games as a freshman and Mike Stoeckel (Washingtonville, N.Y.) who saw time in nine games as a rookie in 2014-15.
 
Newcomers Stefon Bryan (Roosevelt, N.Y.), Angelo Curro (LaGrangeville, N.Y.) and T.J. Patsalos (Newburgh, N.Y.) look to add depth to a frontcourt in 2015-16.
 
A Look At New Paltz: After posting an 11-14 overall record and a 9-9 mark in the SUNYAC last season, New Paltz opened the 2015-16 campaign on Friday with a 70-68 home win over Vassar. R.J. Rosa finished the contest with 27 points on 10-for-19 shooting, with Brandon Guest chipping in 10 points for the Hawks.
New Paltz shot 43.3-percent from the floor overall in the game, hitting seven three-point field goals.
 
Rosa is the team's top returning scorer after averaging better than 14 points per game last season. In 2014-15, the Hawks held opponents to .380 shooting and a .297 effort from three-point range.
 
Upcoming Schedule: Following the season opener, Mount Saint Mary will play three games on the road heading into Thanksgiving. The Knights will pay two contests at the Elmira Tournament November 20-21 before opening conference play at league newcomer St. Joseph's-Brooklyn on November 24.

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