Newburgh, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College Men's Basketball team closed out the home regular season schedule on Tuesday night with a tough 63-51 Skyline Conference win over the United States Merchant Marine Academy. Senior Tyler McDine (Suffern, N.Y.), who led the team with 14 points, was recognized prior to the game along with classmates Angelo Curro (LaGrangeville, N.Y.), Jason Jones (Lansdale, Pa.), Andrew Holmes (Niskayuna, N.Y.), Daniel Wolff (Holtsville, N.Y.) and Gerard Nocera (Holmdel, N.J.) on Senior Night.
 
Following seven lead changes over the opening five-and-a-half minutes on Tuesday, the Knights took the lead for good on a Holmes three-pointer that gave the Mount a 14-12 lead with 13:01 left in the opening stanza. Jones pushed the Knights in front 20-12 on a fast break bucket at the 9:32 mark before the Knights used a 15-1 to pull in front 35-15 on a Holmes lay-in with just over three minutes left before halftime.
 
The Mount went 6-for-9 from the floor over the run with Wolff leading five different scorers with four points. The Knights held the visitors to an 0-for-7 effort from the floor over the nearly six-minute stretch, allowing only a Christian Wittendorf free-throw.
 
USMMA was limited to just three field goals over the final 9:11 of the opening period, going 3-for-13 over that stretch. The Knights finished off the final nine-plus minutes of the period 7-for-12 overall with T.J. Patsalos (Newburgh, N.Y.) netting five points.
 
Mount Saint Mary converted at nearly 54-percent over the opening 20 minutes, knocking down six three-point field goals. The Knights' defense held the visitors to 27.6-percent shooting and a 1-for-12 effort from behind the arc. Jones paced the Mount's scoring attack with eight first half points.
 
USMMA came out of halftime and sliced its disadvantage to five points with a 13-2 run capped by a James Walsh lay-in 3:59 into the second period. Walsh scored six points over the run for the Mariners, who went 6-for-7 from the floor with a three-pointer over the opening spurt.
 
Back-to-back three-point field goals from Kendall Francis (Great Neck, N.Y.) spread the Mount's lead back to 11 points with 14:36 left in regulation time and the Mount never allowed the visitors closer than five points the rest of the way. After a pair of Robbie Kennedy free-throws brought the Mariners to within 51-46 with 6:06 left to play, the Knights closed the game with a 12-5 stretch to secure their fourth straight win.
 
Although the Knights shot only 38.1-percent in the second half, they went 6-for-8 from behind the arc to hold off the Mariners. USMMA improved to 41.9-percent shooting after halftime, but went just 2-for-9 from behind the arc in the second half.
 
McDine and Francis each scored in double-figures on Tuesday, with McDine rounding out the night 5-for-10 from the floor overall and 4-for-5 from three-point range. Francis came off the bench to go 3-for-3 from behind the arc on his way to 11 points. McDine and Francis each handed out four assists in the game, with Wolff, Holmes and Jones combining for 25 points.
 
Mount Saint Mary finished the game shooting 46.8-percent overall and an even 50-percent from three-point range, connecting on 12 of its 24 attempts. The Mount rounded out the night with a 16-9 edge in points off turnovers and a 24-14 advantage in bench scoring.
 
At 12-12 overall and 12-7 in Skyline Conference play, the Mount closes the regular season on Saturday when it travels to St. Joseph's-L.I. Tip-off with the Golden Eagles is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.