Newburgh, N.Y. – Coming off a 74-72 no-conference overtime win over Penn State Abington on Monday, the Mount Saint Mary College Men's Basketball team will return to Skyline Conference action on Wednesday when it hosts the United States Merchant Marine Academy and Saturday when it travels to Maritime. Live Stats will be available for both games for those who cannot attend.
 
At A Glance: Following Monday's win, its fourth straight, Mount Saint Mary stands at 7-3 overall on the season and is 2-0 against conference rivals. Gerard Nocera (Holmdel, N.J.) paced the Knights in their last outing, netting 21 points to go along with 11 rebounds, with Tyler McDine (Suffern, N.Y.) netting 12 points, including the game winning bucket in the closing seconds of the overtime period.
 
Mount Saint Mary has six players averaging at least 6.0 points per game heading into Wednesday's home tilt, led by 14.7 points per night from Nocera who is shooting 45.5-percent from the floor. Daniel Wolff (Holtsville, N.Y.) is good for 11.4 points per game and is the team's leading rebounder at 8.3 per game, while McDine and Patsalos are averaging 8.3 and 8.1 points per game respectively.
 
McDine is the team's top distributor with 34 assists on the season and leads the team in free-throw makes (48), attempts (58) and percentage (.828). He ranks fourth in the conference in percentage of players averaging at least 2.5 makes per game.
 
As a team, the Mount is scoring just over 69 points per outing and is holding opponents to 68.5 points, a 38.5-percent effort from the floor and a 28.1-percent conversion rate from behind the arc. The Knights rank second in the conference in scoring defense and three-point field goal percentage defense and lead the Skyline Conference in field goal percentage defense and free-throw percentage.
 
A Look At The Mariners: Conference newcomer USMMA comes to town with a 4-7 overall record and a 1-2 mark in the Skyline Conference. The Mariners picked up an 87-86 overtime win over Widener on December 17 in which Matt Miller led the way with 26 points. Connor Green added 18 points in the win and Robbie Kennedy came off the bench to chip in with 17 points and five rebounds.
 
Through 11 games, USMMA is led by 18.9 points from Miller who is the only player averaging in double-figures. He also leads the team in three-point field goals with 25 and is shooting 36.2-percent from bonus distance. David Washington paces the team on the glass with better than seven boards per game, while Connor Green leads the way with 2.0 assists per contest.
 
USMMA is averaging just under 60 points per game as a team and shoots 37-percent overall and just under 31-percent from behind the arc. The Mariners rank third in the conference in free-throw percentage (.715).
 
Recent History: The two teams have met just three times since the start of the 2005-06 season, with the Knights dropping two of the three contests. The most recent meeting came on February 10, 2007 with USMMA posting an 82-52 victory.
 
Previewing the Privateers: Maritime enters Saturday's contest at 5-5 overall and 1-2 in league play. Maritime won its last outing, an 87-66 decision over Maine Presque Isle on New Year's Eve at the Admiral's Classic in Castine, Maine. The Privateers scored 51 points in the second half to pull away from the Owls with Tim Hoch leading the scoring attack with 25 points. John Liccese finished off a strong game with 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists, while Patrick MacDonald rounded out an impressive double-double with 16 points and 15 rebounds.
 
Through 10 games, Maritime has five players scoring in double-figures led by 17.8 points per game from MacDonald. He is averaging a double-double with 10 rebounds per game and is shooting 52-percent from the floor.
 
Liccese is good for 16.9 points per game to go along with a Skyline Conference leading 8.1 assists per outing. Isaiah Hayes is putting up 16.4 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, while Hoch is averaging 15.0 points is converting nearly half of his three-point field goal attempts. In two games played, Michael Walker is scoring 10.0 points per outing for Maritime.
 
Maritime is third in the conference in scoring at 82 points per game and is second in three-point field goal percentage. MacDonald leads the league in field goal percentage and Hoch is tops in the conference in three-point field goal percentage. Liccese leads the way in assists per game and assist-to-turnover ratio (3.2).
 
Recent History: Maritime and Mount Saint Mary have met 38 times since the start of the 1996-97 season with the Mount holding a 26-12 record. The Knights have won 10 of the last 12 meetings with each team winning on the road in last year's series.
 
What's Next: Following two tough league matchups this week, Mount Saint Mary will open a three game home stand on January 11 against Sarah Lawrence.