Troy, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College Men's Basketball team was back on the floor for the first time since November 16 on Friday and dropped an 83-54 road decision at RPI. Senior Kendall Francis (Great Neck, N.Y.) scored at least 20 points for the third straight game with a game-high 21.
 
After scoring the first four points of the contest, the Mount saw RPI run off 10 of the next 12 points to pull in front 10-6 on a Dominic Black lay-in. The Knights would get to within 10-9 on a Ryan Purcell (Middletown, N.J.) triple, but the Engineers used a 9-0 run to pull in front 19-9. The run was capped by a pair of Jeffrey Coulter free-throws with 9:00 left before halftime.
 
Mount Saint Mary would bring its deficit to eight points three times over the next  2:15, but RPI broke the game open with a 22-7 run to close the period. The Engineers held the Mount without a field goal over the final 2:45 of the half and grabbed a half-high 23 point lead when Coulter knocked in a three-pointer with 70 seconds left before halftime to give RPI a 45-22 advantage at the intermission.
 
Mount Saint Mary was limited to 37.5-percent shooting over the opening 20 minutes and hit just one of its four three-point attempts. RPI converted at 48.3-percent in the first half and outscored the Knights 14-3 from the free-throw line. Francis led all players at the break with 10 points, with Black and Jonny Angbazo leading RPI with nine tallies apiece.
 
Coming out the break, RPI spread its lead to 56-28 on a Patrick Mahoney jumper just over five minutes into the second frame. The Mount would not be able to pull closer than 20 points in the second frame and saw RPI surge in front by a game-high 32 points on a Mason Memmelaar three-pointer with 4:17 remaining in the tilt.
 
RPI continued its efficient shooting in the second half, converting at 47.1-percent, while the Knights finished the second stanza shooting 37.9-percent overall, going just 1-for-9 from three-point range. Francis added 11 points after the break, while Memmelaar tallied 12 points for RPI.
 
Francis rounded out the game 7-for-17 from the floor and 6-for-8 from the free-throw line. Nick Lucas (Sparta, N.J.) came off the bench to add seven points with Jameson Morton (Woodstock, N.Y.) returning to the lineup with six points.
 
Juniors Ethan Fox (Wallingford, Conn.) and Paul Sienke (Washington, D.C.) led the Knights with four rebounds apiece with Tristan Millett (Allentown, N.J.) pacing the team with three assists.
 
RPI featured four players in double-figures, led by 15 points from both Mahoney and Angbazo, with Mahoney leading the team on the glass with seven rebounds. Memmelaar chipped in 14 points and Will Rubin contributed 11.
 
The Engineers shot 47.6-percent overall in the game, despite a 7-for-30 effort from three-point range. The Knights were limited to 37.7-percent overall and 2-for-13 from three-point range. RPI outscored the Mount 16-12 from the free-throw line and 25-10 in points off of turnovers.
 
Friday's loss drops Mount Saint Mary to 0-4 overall on the season. The Knights return to action on December 2 when they welcome Hartwick to the Kaplan Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.