Newburgh, N.Y. – Senior Gerard Nocera (Holmdel, N.J.) led four players in double-figures with 17 points and classmate Andrew Holmes (Niskayuna, N.Y.) poured in a career-high 15 as the Mount Saint Mary College Men's Basketball team stopped a four game skid with a 71-60 home conference victory over Maritime Tuesday night.
 
The Knights trailed only briefly following an Isaiah Hayes bucket for the Privateers three minutes into the tilt, but used a 16-6 stretch to jump in front 20-10 with 8:52 left before halftime. The Knights went 8-for-10 from the floor over the run with Holmes leading the way with six points.
 
The Mount saw its lead expand to 13 points on a Connor Bacci (Bayside, N.Y.) three-pointer and later moved in front by a half-high 16 points twice in the last 2:26 of the first period. Nocera converted a lay-in to push the Mount in front 33-17 and closed the scoring in the half with a bucket at 1:22 to send the Knights to the intermission with a 35-19 lead.
 
Although the Mount went just 1-for-8 from behind the arc, it shot 53.3-percent from the floor overall in the opening stanza, while Maritime converted at just 20.6-percent overall. Nocera led all scorers with 12 points at the break with Holmes and Tyler McDine (Suffern, N.Y.) each chipping in with six.
 
A McDine layup in the first possession of the second period moved the Knights in front by 18 and the advantage grew to a game-high 19 points twice in the opening four minutes of the half. A three-point play from Kendall Francis (Great Neck, N.Y.) pushed the Knights in front 42-23 and a McDine conversion at the 16:46 mark gave the Knights a 44-25.
 
Mount Saint Mary maintained a double-figure lead until the Privateers put together a 23-11 stretch that saw them climb back to within seven points. Maritime hit five three-pointers over the run, including a pair from Brendan McGovern.
 
The Mount quickly answered with a three-pointer from Nocera to pull back in front by 10 points with just shy of six minutes left to play and built the lead back to 14 points four times in the final 3:43 of the tilt. The Knights hit seven of their eight free-throws down the stretch to seal their fourth league win of the season.
 
The Knights cooled to 33.3-percent shooting after halftime, but finished the game converting at 42.9-percnet overall. The Mount held the edge in paint points on the night 44-23 and in points off of turnovers 14-0.
 
Nocera rounded out the night 7-for-17 from the floor, matching the game-high in scoring. He added nine rebounds and an assist to the winning effort. Holmes finished up 6-for-12 from the floor and hauled in nine boards for the Knights.
 
Francis came off the bench to contribute 11 points, while McDine added 10 points and five assists against just one turnover.
 
At 4-7 overall on the season and 4-2 in Skyline Conference play, the Mount continues a three game home stand on Thursday when it plays host to Farmingdale State. Tip-off with the Rams is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.