Newburgh, N.Y. – Senior Gerard Nocera (Holmdel, N.J.) scored a team-high 20 points, including the 1,000^th of his career, as the Mount Saint Mary College Men's Basketball team overcame a second half deficit to pick up its first win of the season with a 74-69 home Skyline Conference victory over Yeshiva on Thursday night.
 
In a game that was played inside a nine-point window the entire night, the Mount outscored Yeshiva 24-15 over 8:47 late in the first half to grab its largest lead of the game at 41-33. A trio of Knights scored six points apiece over the run, including freshman Ethan Fox (Wallingoford, Conn.) who capped the spurt with 55 seconds left before break.
 
The Mount, who held a 41-36 lead at the intermission, shot an efficient 54.8-percent from the floor in the opening period and was led by 10 first half points from Daniel Wolff (Holtsville, N.Y.). Wolff went 4-for-9 from the floor and hit one of the team's four first half triples.
 
The Mount maintained the advantage until the 13:50 mark of the second half when a Simcha Halpert three-pointer tied the score at 49-49. The triple was part of an 18-2 run by the Maccabees that saw them surge in front 60-51 with 9:52 left in regulation time. Yeshiva went 8-for-12 from the floor over the run with Bar Alluf leading the way with 10 points.
 
Trailing by their largest deficit of the game, the Mount answered with a 15-4 stretch over nearly six minutes. Nocera led the charge with seven points, including a triple to slice the deficit to 64-62 and a pair of free-throws to move the Knights in front 66-64.
 
After gaining the lead with 3:57 left to play, the Mount would not trail again and a Nocera triple with 58 seconds left broke a 66-66 tie to move the Mount in front for good in the game. The Knights went 5-for-6 from the line down the stretch, including a 4-for-4 effort from Tyler McDine (Suffern, N.Y.) to close out the victory.
 
Since 1991-92, Nocera is the 15^th player to reach 1,000 points and is the first to do so since Donte Howell and Joe Stabach during the 2013-2014 season. He finished the game 6-for-11 from the floor, including three triples, to go along with five rebounds. He scored 16 points after halftime, going 4-for-6 from the floor and 3-for-4 from bonus distance.
 
Wolff closed the win with 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists, while McDine wrapped up the night with 10 points and six assists. Connor Bacci (Bayside, N.Y.) hauled in a team-high eight rebounds and totaled five points and five assists.
 
Yeshiva, who shot 46.8-percent for the night, was led by 21 points from Alluf and got 20 points from Halpert. Daniel Katz chipped in with 12 points and joined Halpert with a team-high six rebounds. Halpert paced the Maccabees with five assists and four steals.
 
The Knights shot a season-high 51-percent from the floor and a season-best 36.8-percent from three-point range. The Knights outscored the Maccabees 15-6 from the free-throw line, shooting 83.3-percent from the stripe.
 
At 1-3 overall on the season and 1-1 in Skyline Conference play, the Mount will take to the road for a Saturday afternoon contest at St. Joseph's-Brooklyn. Tip-off with the Bears is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.