New York, N.Y. – Junior Gerard Nocera (Holmdel, N.J.) led a trio of Knights in double-figures with 16 points and matched the team-high in rebounds as the Mount Saint Mary College Men's Basketball team collected its third straight win with a hard fought 67-59 road win at Hunter on Friday.
 
The Mount got off to a quick start and jumped out to a 7-2 lead on a Daniel Wolff (Holtsville, N.Y.) triple, but later fell behind by six points following a 21-10 stretch from the Hawks. The Knights rebounded with a 14-4 spurt over the final 6:55 of the first half to claim a six point halftime advantage.
 
After falling behind by their largest deficit of the game, the Mount pulled in front on a Connor Nicholson (Staten Island, N.Y.) three-pointer and took a 31-25 lead on an Owen Heath (Jamestown, R.I.) conversion with 1:27 left in the opening frame. After falling behind by six, the Mount allowed just one field goal over the remainder of the half to carry a 31-27 lead into the break.
 
Mount Saint Mary converted at 40.6-percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes and held the Hawks to 36-percent, including a 1-for-7 effort from behind the arc. The Mount had eight players score in the first half, led by six points each from Nicholson and sophomore T.J. Patsalos (Newburgh, N.Y.).
 
Mount Saint Mary spread its lead to seven points twice in the first three minutes of the second half and maintained the advantage until an 8-0 run from Hunter capped by triples from Mamadou Sakho and Danny Fusco that gave it a 40-39 edge.
 
The Mount regained the lead on a pair of Nocera free-throws and after falling behind 43-41 used a 12-1 run to gain a 53-44 lead with 6:51 left to play. A Connor Bacci (Bayside, N.Y.) three-pointer with 8:49 left gave the Knights the lead for good in the game and a Patsalos lay-in capped the run for the Mount.
 
Hunter would claw back to within five points in the final minute of action, but four straight free-throws from Tyler McDine (Suffern, N.Y.) in the final 29 seconds gave the Mount the final eight point advantage.
 
Nocera reached double-figures for the seventh straight game, scoring a team-high 16 points on a 4-for-7 effort from the floor and a perfect 8-for-8 showing from the free-throw line. He equaled the team-high with seven rebounds and closed out a strong day with two steals and a blocked shot.
 
Wolff totaled 14 points for the Knights, dropping in a pair of three-pointers, adding seven rebounds and a game-high five steals. Patsalos reached double-figures for the first time since December 3 with 10 points on 5-for-11 shooting.
 
Nicholson finished with eight points for the Mount, while McDine contributed four points, five rebounds and a pair of assists.
 
Hunter was led by a game-high 18 points from Fusco and received 12 points from Matt Franks. Amer Lukac rounded out the game with eight points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
 
Mount Saint Mary finished the victory shooting 43.4-percent overall and went 17-for-21 from the free-throw line. Hunter was held to 37-percent shooting, including 5-for-20 from bonus distance, and misfired on nine free-throw attempts. Following Friday's result, the Knights lead the conference in field goal percentage defense at 38.8-percent.
 
At 6-3 overall on the season, Mount Saint Mary will return to action on Monday when they welcome Penn State-Abington to the Kaplan Center. Tip-off with the NIttany Lions is set for 5:00 p.m.