Newburgh, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College Men's Basketball team suffered just its second home loss of the season on Tuesday night following a 85-67 home Skyline Conference defeat to visiting Farmingdale State. Junior Gerard Nocera (Holmdel, N.J.) led the scoring attack with 12 points.
 
After falling behind 9-2 in the early stages of the contest, the Mount rebounded with a 13-4 run capped by a Connor Bacci (Bayside, N.Y.) three-pointer with 12:35 left in the opening period to give the Knights a 15-13 lead, their largest advantage of the night.
 
The Mount's lead would last 24 seconds as Trey Kinard answered with a triple to push the visitors back in front 16-15 and they spread the lead to 21-15 on a Chaz Platt three-point field goal midway through the opening stanza.
 
A pair of Andrew Holmes (Niskayuna, N.Y.) free-throws got the Mount back to within two points with just under eight minutes left before halftime, but Farmingdale State answered with 16 of the next 24 points to grab a 37-27 lead with 2:08 remaining in the opening 20 minutes, before carrying a 40-31 lead into the break.
 
Farmingdale State shot an efficient 53.3-percent from the floor in the first half, including a 5-for-10 effort from behind the arc. Ali Mableton and Kinard each scored 10 points, with Kinard adding four assists before halftime.
 
Mount Saint Mary was held to 37.5-percent shooting in the opening frame and went 5-for-15 from bonus distance. Nocera and Daniel Wolff (Holtsville, N.Y.) finished the half with seven points apiece.
 
Coming out of the break, the Mount got a T.J. Patsalos (Newburgh, N.Y.) lay-in to climb to within four points, before a quick 15-2 spurt from the Rams opened a 55-38 lead with 15:28 left in regulation. Farmingdale State went 6-for-8 from the floor over the run, including 3-for-4 from three-point range to spread the lead to double-figures. The 17 point spread would be as close the as the Knights would get the remainder of the evening.
 
Farmingdale State continued its hot shooting in the second half, converting at 54.8-percent in the second half, knocking in five more three-pointers. George Riefenstahl scored 10 of his game-high 18 points after halftime, going 4-for-6 from the floor in the second half.
 
Riefenstahl led four Rams in double-figures on the night, closing out a double-double with 10 rebounds. Kinard totaled 13 points and five assists, while Mableton finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and four helpers. Weldone Irvine paced all players with 13 caroms in the contest.
 
Nocera was the only Knight to score in double-figures, finishing 5-for-10 from the floor with a pair of triples. Wolff scored seven points and added eight rebounds, with Tyler McDine (Suffern, N.Y.) closing the night with six points and six assists. Holmes and Jason Jones (Lansdale, Pa.) rounded out the night with seven points each.
 
The Knights finished the game shooting 32.8-percent overall, 25.9-percent from distance and 53.3-percent from the free-throw line, their second lowest percentage of the season. Farmingdale State shot 54.1-percent overall, the highest mark against the Mount this season.
 
Tuesday's loss drops Mount Saint Mary to 9-5 overall on the season and to 4-2 in Skyline Conference play. The Knights will look to rebound on Saturday when they close a three game home stand against Old Westbury. Tip-off at the Kaplan Center is set for 1:00 p.m.