Newburgh, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College Men's Basketball team will play the second game of a three game home stand and looks to stop a two game skid on Wednesday night when it plays host to Skyline Conference North Division rival Sage. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the Kaplan Center with Live Stats available for those who cannot attend the game.
At A Glance: The Knights enter Wednesday's contest at 11-9 overall and an even 6-6 in league play following an 88-72 road loss at Yeshiva on Thursday and a hard fought 64-60 defeat at the hands of Purchase on Saturday afternoon in Newburgh.
The Mount shot 42-percent from the floor against the Panthers on Saturday and showed three players in double-figures. Junior
Gerard Nocera (Holmdel, N.J.) led the scoring attack with 18 points and added a team-high seven rebounds.
Tyler McDine (Suffern, N.Y.) and
Connor Nicholson (Staten Island, N.Y.) each finished the contest with 11 points and a pair of assists.
Heading into Wednesday's matchup with the Gators, Nocera leads the team in scoring with 15.5 points per game and is contributing nearly seven rebounds per outing. He is shooting 48.3-percent from the floor and leads the team with 23 three-point field goals.
McDine is good for better than three assists per game and has handed out a team-high 74 helpers on the season. He is shooting just under 80-percent from the free-throw line in 78 attempts.
Connor Bacci (Bayside, N.Y.) leads the team with 25 steals and is third on the team, trailing Nocera and Nicholson (20), in three-point field goals with 17.
Mount Saint Mary currently leads the Skyline Conference in scoring defense (67.9) and ranks second in free-throw percentage (73.5) as well as third in both field goal percentage defense (40.0) and three-point field goal percentage defense (30.5).
Scouting Sage: The Gators, who were the preseason pick to win the North Division, stand at 12-9 overall and 8-4 in league play. Sage is coming off a 108-69 win over Sarah Lawrence on Saturday in which it shot 56.3-percent from the floor and 42.1-percent from three-point range.
Marcus Patterson poured in 31 points for the Gators on 11-for-17 shooting to go along with six rebounds. Frane Larose and Rob Mills combined for 21 points and Anthony Mitchell came off the bench to net 10 points for the Gators.
Sage outscored Sarah Lawrence 27-12 in transition and 25-9 in points off of turnovers. Sage finished with 69 points in the paint and turned 15 offensive rebounds into 19 second chance points.
Patterson leads the team in scoring heading into Wednesday's contest with 17.1 points per game and is tied for the team lead in rebounding with Thiago Conceicao at 7.3 boards per game. Jordan Devaughn is good for 2.2 assists and nearly two steals per game for the Gators who average just over 80 points per game.
Sage leads the Skyline Conference in scoring margin (6.4) and three-point field goal percentage defense (30.0) and sits second in the league rankings in scoring (80.4) and field goal percentage (43.8).
Last Meeting: The Knights and Gators squared off in Albany on December 1 with the Mount earning a 70-64 victory.
Daniel Wolff (Holtsville, N.Y.) posted a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds, with Nocera chipping in 11 points and Bacci netting 10 points off the bench.
Mount Saint Mary shot nearly 48-percent from the floor and held Sage to 35.9-percent and 22.2-percent from three-point range. Patterson scored 12 points and collected six rebounds for the Gators.
What's Next: Mount Saint Mary finishes its three game home stand and the regular season home schedule on Saturday when it plays host to Maritime. Tip-off has been pushed back one hour to 2:00 p.m.
