Newburgh, N.Y. – Back-to-back three-point field goals from Tyler McDine (Suffern, N.Y.) and Jason Jones (Lansdale, Pa.) in the final two minutes of regulation erased a one point deficit and sparked the Mount Saint Mary Men's Basketball team to its first conference victory of the season, a hard fought 71-64 decision over Yeshiva at the Kaplan Center on Monday night.
 
Trailing 60-59 following a pair of Michael Berg free-throws, Mount Saint Mary took the lead for good in the game with 1:49 left in regulation when McDine connected on a triple to push the Mount in front 62-60. After a defensive stop, Jones drained a triple with 1:14 left on the clock to push the lead to 65-60.
 
The Maccabees would close to within three points twice in the final minute, but two free-throws each from McDine and freshman Connor Bacci (Bayside, N.Y.) sealed the win for the Knights.
 
After shooting 35-percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, Yeshiva erased a 15 point halftime deficit on Monday by shooting a blistering 66.7-percent in the second half. The Maccabees used an 18-3 spurt covering over six minutes in the second half to take just their second lead of the night. Yeshiva went 5-for-6 overall, including 2-for-3 from distance, to erase a 14 point disadvantage with just over eight minutes left in regulation.
 
The Knights knocked in six three point field goals after halftime, including two each from Daniel Wolff (Holtsville, N.Y.), Jones and McDine, and outscored the Maccabees 13-7 from the free-throw line after the break to secure the win. Jones and McDine each scored 10 points after the half for the Knights.
 
Mount Saint Mary built its lead in the first half, using a 24-7 spurt over 10:13 to take its largest lead of the game, an 18 point bulge with 3:28 left before halftime. Wolff hit a pair of triples over the stretch and Gerard Nocera (Holmdel, N.J.) capped the run and gave the Knights a 33-15 advantage with a three-point play at the 3:28 mark of the first half.
 
Although the Knights shot just 39.3-percent from the floor in the opening period, they converted at an efficient 57.1-percent from behind the arc to carry a 34-19 lead into the break. Wolff went 4-for-4 from the field, including a 2-for-2 effort from distance, on his way to 12 first half points.
 
Wolff finished the game leading a balanced scoring attack with 18 points after going 6-for-8 from the floor and 4-for-5 from three-point range. He added five rebounds and four steals in the win for the Mount.
 
Jones contributed 15 points for the Mount, knocking in three triples and going a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line. McDine rounded out the night with two treys and went 5-for-7 from the free-throw line on his way to 13 points. Nocera rounded out the quartet in double-figures with 10 points.
 
The Knights finished the game shooting 39.1-percent overall, but went 10-for-16 from behind the arc and 21-for-28 from the free-throw line in the win. Mount Saint Mary converted seven more three-point field goals and 10 more free-throws then the Maccabees on the night.
 
Monday's win pushes Mount Saint Mary back above the .500 mark at 3-2 overall and evens its league record at 1-1. The Knights will be back on the floor Wednesday night when they welcome Sage to the Kaplan Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.

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