Newburgh, N.Y. – Senior Tyler McDine (Suffern, N.Y.) led four players in double-figures with a team-high 16 points as the Mount Saint Mary College Men's Basketball team got back into the win column on Monday night with a hard fought 67-65 Skyline Conference win over visiting St. Joseph's-L.I.
 
The Knights got off to a quick start on Monday, getting consecutive three-pointers from Gerard Nocera (Holmdel, N.J.) and Daniel Wolff (Holtsville, N.Y.) to open a quick 6-2 lead 1:40 into the contest. The Knights stretched their lead to 19-12 on a Wolff lay-in with just over nine minutes left before halftime and stayed in front until a Frank Basile three-pointer at the 5:02 mark knotted the score at 21-21.
 
The Basile triple was part of an 11-2 run for the Golden Eagles that saw them move in front 23-21 on another Basile conversion with 4:46 left until halftime. St. Joseph's went 5-fo-7 from the field over the run and held the Knights to 1-for-12 shooting, including 0-for-5 from behind the arc.
 
The St. Joseph's lead was short lived as Kendall Francis (Great Neck, N.Y.) moved the Knights back in front with a three-pointer and a McDine conversion in the final 40 seconds of the half sent the Knights into the intermission with a 29-26 advantage.
 
Mount Saint Mary shot 33.3-percent overall in the half, but knocked in five three-pointers and outscored the Golden Eagles by four from the free-throw line. Wolff led the Knights at the break with eight points, connecting on a pair of three-pointers.
 
The Golden Eagles retook a one point lead on an Eddie Higgins bucket early in the second half and moved in front by as many as three points before a 21-9 run from the Knights covering better than eight minutes pushed them in front 57-48 on a Francis free-throw with 7:00 left to play. The Mount went 3-for-5 from long range over the run and received eight points from Francis, who was one of six Knights to score over the stretch.
 
Trailing by nine points, the Golden Eagles held the Mount to just three field goals over the final 7:00 minutes and moved to within a single point on a Basile triple with 40 seconds left in regulation. After Nocera went 1-for-2 from the line in the closing seconds, Basile had a look at the horn, but it missed the mark.
 
Both teams improved their shooting after the break, with St. Joseph's converting at 55.6-percent in the second half, hitting on five three-pointers. The Mount shot better than 43-percet after halftime, also making five triples in the second half. McDine and Francis combined for 23 of the team's 38 seconds half points.
 
McDine rounded out the night shooting 5-for-11 from the floor with a pair of triples and added four rebounds and four assists. Francis came off the bench on Monday to produce 15 points, going 5-for-10 from the floor with a pair of three-pointers.
 
Nocera contributed 12 points for the Knights in the win, with Wolff hitting on three treys to go along with an assist and a steal. Wolff and Andrew Holmes (Niskayuna, N.Y.) equaled the team-high with six rebounds apiece.
 
St. Joseph's was led by 16 points and 11 rebounds from Basile with Stephen Cohen and Jarred Marrow scoring 11 and 10, respectively. Higgins led all players on the night with 11 rebounds for the Golden Eagles.
 
Mount Saint Mary finished the night shooting 38.3-percent overall, making 10 three-pointers. The Mount misfired on eight free-throws in the game, but outscored the visitors by seven from the stripe.
 
At 9-12 overall on the season and 9-7 in Skyline Conference play, the Knights are back in action on Wednesday when they travel to Sarah Lawrence. Tip-off in Bronxville is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.