Newburgh, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College Men's Basketball team will open play in the 2019 Skyline Conference Championship on Thursday afternoon when it takes on third seeded Old Westbury. The game, originally scheduled for 4:00 p.m. Wednesday afternoon, will now be played on Thursday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. on the campus of Purchase College.
 
At A Glance: Despite losing four of its final six games of the regular season, the Mount claimed the final slot in the championship tournament by four games and enter Thursday's tilt at 14-11 overall. The Mount is coming off a 66-59 come-from-behind win at St. Joseph's-L.I. on Monday to finish off the regular season.
 
Mount Saint Mary is led by Kendall Francis (Great Neck, N.Y.) who is averaging 18.8 points per game, shooting 41.9-percent from the floor overall. He leads the team in three-point field goals with 61 and is converting at 36.7-percent from bonus distance to go along with 4.4 rebounds per game, 2.4 assists per contest and just over one steal per night.
 
Sophomore Paul Sienke (Washington, D.C.) is contributing 9.8 points and 3.9 rebounds per game while shooting just over 51-percent from the floor, with senior Connor Bacci (Bayside, N.Y.) chipping in 7.9 points and a team-high 2.6 assists per tilt.
 
Jameson Morton (Woodstock, N.Y.) paces the Mount off the bench with 8.4 points and just under two assists per game, while sophomore Ethan Fox (Wallingford, Conn.) averages 7.0 points per game while adding a team-high 6.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game.
 
Mount Saint Mary ranks seventh in the conference in scoring offense at 68.5 points per game, but finished the season second in scoring defense after allowing 67 points per game. The Knights sit atop the league standing in three-point field goal percentage defense (29.5) and second in field goal percentage defense (40.3).
Individually, Francis ranks third in the league in scoring and seventh in three-point field goals per game, while Fox ranks sixth in the conference in blocked shots per contest.
 
Last Time Out: The Mount overcame a 16-point first half deficit to close the regular season with a seven-point win on the road at St. Joseph's-L.I. Fox scored a career-high 18 points and closed out a double-double with 12 rebounds, while Francis chipped in 16 points. Morton came off the bench to pace the Knights with 11 tallies.
 
After shooting 32.4-percent in the first half, the Mount responded with a 43.3-percent conversion rate after the intermission. The Knights held the edge in the game in paint points at 32-20, points off of turnovers 17-6 and second chance scoring 15-4.
 
Previewing The Panthers: Old Westbury enters Thursday's First Round game at 15-10 overall after winning five of its final seven regular season contests. The Panthers finished off the regular season with a 72-67 victory over St. Joseph's-Brooklyn on Saturday.
 
Old Westbury features three players scoring in double-figures, led by 17.7 points per game from Alan McDonald who also leads the team with just over eight rebounds per game. Pedro Marquez is good for 17.6 points per night, while Justin Alleyne-Washington in contributing 16.3 points per night to the offensive attack.
 
Marquez is shooting 39.3-percent from three-point range for the Panthers and has made 72 triples on the season and is good for a team-high 4.3 assists per contest while playing nearly 39 minutes per outing.
 
Old Westbury ranks fifth in the Skyline Conference in scoring offense at 75.9 points per game, but is eight in scoring defense, allowing nearly 76 points per outing. Individually, McDonald is sixth in the league in scoring, while Marquez is third in three-point field goal percentage and fourth in three-point field goals per game.
 
Regular Season Series: The two teams split the two regular season matchups with each team winning on its home floor. The Mount posted an 81-76 triumph over the Panthers at the Kaplan Center on December 8, while Old Westbury scored a 76-69 triumph at Clark Athletic Center on January 10.
 
In the Mount's victory, they shot 52.7-precent from the field and 53.3-percent from three-point range, while the Panthers converted at 43.1-percent and went 9-for-27 from long distance. Francis matched his career-high with 34 points, going 10-for-19 from the floor, with Sienke and Bacci chipping in 16 and 13 points. McDonald led five Panthers in double-figures with 20 points.
 
In Old Westbury's victory, the Knights were held to 39.6-percent shooting overall and finished up 5-for-23 from three-point range. Francis led the way with 17 points, with Sienke and Morton each scoring 14. Marquez paced the Panthers in the win with 18 points, including three of the team's eight three-pointers.
 
Recent Championship History: The Mount is making its second straight appearance in the conference championship after not qualifying for the event for three straight seasons from 2015-17. The Knights dropped a first round contest a season ago to eventual league champion Yeshiva, 80-67.
 
What's Next: The winner of Thursday's contest will travel to second seeded Yeshiva for a 12:00 p.m. tip-off on Friday afternoon.