Newburgh, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College Men's Basketball team finishes off the regular season with two of its final three games on the road, starting on Thursday night at Yeshiva. Following the tilt with the front running Maccabees, the Mount will host the United States Merchant Marine Academy on Saturday before closing the regular season at St. Joseph's-L.I. on Monday evening.
 
At A Glance: The Knights return to action for the first time since February 9 on Thursday when they travel to Skyline front runner Yeshiva for an 8:00 p.m. tip-off. The Knights clinched a spot in next week's Skyline Conference Championship in their last outing, topping Maritime at home by a score of 71-42.
 
Mount Saint Mary enters the Yeshiva contest at 13-9 overall on the season, including a 10-7 mark in Skyline Conference play. The Mount is allowing just 66.4 points per game and is shooting at 43.7-percent, while holding opponents to just under a 40-percent conversion rate.
 
A pair of Knights are averaging double-figures heading into the final week of the regular season, with junior Kendall Francis (Great Neck, N.Y.) leading the way with 19.4 points per contest. Francis is shooting 43.2-percent overall from the floor on the season and a paces the Knights with 56 three-point field goals, converting at 38.4-percent from bonus distance. Francis adds 2.4 assists and just over one steal per game for the Mount.
 
Sophomore Paul Sienke (Washington, D.C.) checks in with 10.0 points per outing for the Mount and is hauling in just shy of four rebounds per night. Sienke is shooting just under 53-percent from the floor for the Knights and is second on the squad with 28 steals.
 
Sophomore Ethan Fox (Wallingford, Conn.) paces the Knights on the backboards this season, hauling in 6.2 rebounds per game and is the team's top rim protector with 20 blocked shots. Senior Connor Bacci (Bayside, N.Y.) leads the Knights with 1.5 steals per game and is the team's top distributor with 2.8 assists per game while chipping in 8.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per outing.
 
Last Time Out: The Knights dominated Maritime and used a 31-5 run over nearly nine minutes in the second half to cruise to a 71-42 home win. Francis led the way with a game-high 24 to go along with seven rebounds, while Bacci contributed 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists to the winning effort.
 
Mount Saint Mary shot 44.4-percent for the game and held Maritime to 25-percent shooting overall and a 4-for-29 effort from three-point range. The Knights dominated the paint with a 38-12 edge in inside scoring and outscored the Privateers in points off of turnovers 27-9.
 
Previewing Yeshiva: The Maccabees, who sit atop the Skyline Conference standings, are on a 16 game winning streak and enter Thursday's contest at 17-5 overall and 15-2 in Skyline Conference play. Yeshiva, who has not lost since a 70-63 loss to the Knights on November 29, extended their run with a tight 75-72 win over USMMA on February 10.
 
A balanced scoring attack features three players averaging at least 16 points per game. Ryan Turrell leads the way at 20.4 points per night and is followed by Simcha Halpert with 18.2 and Leifer with 16.4 points per outing.
 
Turell leads the Skyline Conference in scoring, with Halpert standing fourth in the league, just behind Francis. Leifler is the Skyline's top rebounder with 11.4 per game and also sits atop the league leaderboard in assists with just over five helpers per game.
 
The Maccabees are second in the conference in scoring with just over 84 points per game and are allowing only 69.4 points per contest. Yeshiva is shooting 52.2-percent overall to lead the league and has knocked down a conference-high 199 three-pointers, 36 more than the next highest total.
 
Understanding USMMA: The Mariners are coming off a tight three-point loss to Yeshiva on Sunday and enter a road game at Old Westbury on Thursday at 8-14 overall and 6-12 against Skyline Conference rivals.
 
USMMA has three players good for at least 10 points per game, led by James Walsh who is scoring 10.6 per contest. Seth Barnes and David Washington each check in with 10.2 points per outing for the Mariners who are averaging just 59.4 points per game.
 
Washington paces the Mariners on the glass with just over nine rebounds per game, while Connor Green is good for a team-high 3.1 assists per contest.
 
The Mariners rank 11^th in the conference in scoring entering Thursday tilt with the Panthers, but sit second in the league in scoring defense, allowing 67.0 points per night.
 
Scouting St. Joseph's-L.I. – The Knights close out the regular season on Monday at the Golden Eagles who enter a Saturday tilt with Sarah Lawrence at 5-18 overall and 4-14 in league action. St. Joseph's has lost its last six outings, including a 77-62 road loss at Purchase on February 9.
 
Frank Basile, who is second in the conference in scoring, leads the Golden Eagles offensive attack with 20.3 points per game, shooting 41.0-percent from the floor overall and 36.5-percent from three-point range. Mike Harris supports the St. Joseph's offense with 13.6 points per night.
 
Basile is also the team's top rebounder, with nearly nine caroms per game with Doug Niblock handing out better than three assists per game to lead the Golden Eagles.
 
St. Joseph's enters the weekend ranked 10^th in the conference in scoring with 62.9 points per game and sits fifth in scoring defense, allowing nearly 74 points per game.
 
Senior Day: Prior to Saturday's contest the lone senior on this season's team, Connor Bacci, will be recognized for his achievements over his four-year career with the Knights.
 
What's Next: The Skyline Conference Championship will begin on Wednesday with opponents, locations and game times announced as they become available.