Newburgh N.Y. – Led by
Kendall Francis' (Great Neck, N.Y) 23 points, the Mount Saint Mary College Men's Basketball team pushed their win streak to three games following a thrilling 70-63 victory against Yeshiva. The 3-0 start marks the best start to a season since prior to the 2006-07 campaign.
The Knights dominated the first half defensively, forcing 10 turnovers and holding Yeshiva to 33-percent shooting in the first half. Francis led the way with 11 points to pace the Knights to a 37-28 halftime lead.
Paul Sienke (Washington, D.C.) and
Chris Mikos (Freehold, N.J.) each chipped in six points to add to the nine-point lead.
The Mount started the second half strong, pushing the lead to 10 following a Sienke made three-pointer with 15:21 left in the second half. Yeshiva countered with a 12-0 run over a five-minute stretch, following the made three and took a two point lead with 10:26 remaining.
Tristan Millett (Allentown, N.J.) ended the run on a three-pointer that put the Knights back on top. The game remained a back and forth contest until Francis buried a corner three that put the Knights on top by seven with 32 seconds left to play.
Sienke tied his career-high with 13 points and four rebounds while Mikos added a career-high 10 points. Francis added five rebounds and five steals to go with his career high-tying 23 points.
Connor Bacci (Bayside, N.Y.) chipped in four points, seven rebounds and four assists for the Mount and Millett contributed five points and five boards.
Ryan Turrell scored 26 points for the Maccabees, adding five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Daniel Tzion finished with a double-double, scoring 13 points and ripping down 11 rebounds while Gabriel Leifer secured a game-high 13 rebounds.
The Mount finished the game outshooting Yeshiva 46.7-percent to 36.2-percent and outshot the Macs 36.8-percent to 17.4-percent from the three-point stripe. Mount Saint Mary scored 18 points off 15 Maccabee turnovers.
At 3-0 on the season, Mount Saint Mary plays its first road game of the season on Saturday against St. Joseph's-Brooklyn. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. at the Hill Center.
