Newburgh, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College Men's Basketball team continues the Skyline Conference schedule with upcoming games at the United States Merchant Marine Academy on Saturday and a home tilt with St. Joseph's-L.I. on Tuesday. The Knights and Mariners will square-off at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday with Tuesday's tilt with the Golden Eagles set for 8:00 p.m.
 
MSMC At A Glance: The Knights are coming off a 76-69 road loss at Old Westbury on Thursday and have dropped four of their last six outings, entering Saturday's contest at 9-5 overall and 6-3 against Skyline Conference opponents.
 
The Mount features a pair of players averaging in doubles-figures in scoring with junior Kendall Francis (Great Neck, N.Y.) leading the way with 21.0 points per outing. Francis, who ranks second in the conference in scoring, is shooting 43.3-percent from the floor overall and just over 38-percent from three-point range. Francis is also good for just over four rebounds per outing and is tied for the team lead with Tristan Millett (Allentown, N.Y.) and Connor Bacci (Bayside, N.Y.) in assists with 36.
 
Sophomore Paul Sienke (Washington, D.C.), who tallied 14 points in Thursday's loss, is averaging 10.8 points per game, while Jameson Morton (Woodstock, N.Y.) is coming off the bench to average just shy of 10 points for the Knights. Sienke is shooting 54.4-percent from the field and is hauling in 4.4 rebounds per game, while Morton is converting at 45.4-percent and is shooting 73.2-percent from the free-throw line.
 
In addition to holding a share of the team lead in assists, Bacci is second on the team in rebounding average, while Ethan Fox (Wallingford, Conn.) leads the team on the glass with nearly six caroms per night and holds the team lead in blocked shots with 14.
 
As a unit, Mount Saint Mary is shooting 44.4-percent and 31.8-percent from three-point range. The Mount is getting outrebounded by just over four boards per game and paces the conference in scoring defense, allowing just 69 points per night.
Last Time Out: The Mount suffered its fourth loss in six outings and fell to 3-4 in true road games with its loss at Old Westbury on Thursday.
 
Francis led three players in double-figures with 17 points, with Sienke and Morton each contributing 14 points for the Knights. Bacci matched his career-high with 10 rebounds, while Millett set a new career mark in assists with six.
 
The Mount shot 39.6-percent for the game and struggled from three-point range (5-for-23) and the free-throw line (22-for-33). Old Westbury converted at 43.1-percent for the game and hit eight three-pointers. Pedro Marquez led the scoring attack with a game-high 18 points.
 
Scouting The Mariners: USMMA is off to a sluggish start to the season and stands at 3-8 overall and 1-6 in Skyline Conference play following a 58-51 loss to St. Joseph's-L.I. on Thursday. The Mariners have won three of their last five outings, including a 58-55 conference win over Old Westbury on January 8.
 
The Mariners have two players scoring in double-figures on the season with Seth Barnes leading the way with 12.0 points per game and David Washington chipping in 10.9 points per outing. Washington also paces the team on the backboards with nearly eight rebounds per game to go along with 1.3 blocks per night.
 
Connor Green leads two players good for at least 2.0 assists per contest with 2.6 for the Mariners, while Blaine McDonough is good for 1.3 steals per game and 5.6 rebounds per outing.
 
USMMA is shooting 37.4-percent as a team through its first 11 games and just 29.6-percent from three-point range. The Mariners are last in the conference in scoring average 58.5 points per game and last in scoring margin, getting outscored by better than 15 points per night.
 
Previewing The Golden Eagles:  St. Joseph's stands at 4-9 overall on the season and 3-6 in league play following a 58-51 win over USMMA on Thursday night. The Golden Eagles will host Farmingdale State on Saturday afternoon before making the trip to Newburgh on Tuesday.
 
The Golden Eagles have a trio of players scoring in double-figures on the season, led by 20.0 per night from Frank Basile, who shoots 41.8-percent from the floor and 35.3-percent from three-point range. Mike Harris checks in with 17.0 points per night and Brad Weiss is good for just over 10 points per outing for St. Joseph's.
Basile is averaging a double-double with 10.2 rebounds per night, while Doug Niblock is handing out better than three assists per game.
 
The Golden Eagles are shooting 39.6-percent as a team heading into the weekend and 32.8-percent from three-point range. St. Joseph's ranks 10^th in the Skyline Conference in scoring offense with just over 63 points per game and ranks seventh in scoring margin, getting out scored by just over six points per outing.
 
What's Next: Following Tuesday's game, which closes a stretch of four games in eight days, the Knights will be off until January 19 when they welcome the College of Mount Saint Vincent to the Kaplan Center.