Throggs Neck, N.Y. – Trailing Maritime and Sarah Lawrence by a game in the conference standings for the final guaranteed championship berth in the North Division, the Mount Saint Mary College Men's Basketball team took to the road Tuesday night and suffered a heartbreaking 73-71 decision to the Privateers. Three Knights scored in double-figures in the game, including Ethan Fox (Wallingford, Conn.) who paced the team in rebounds and blocked shots.
 
The entire first half on Tuesday was played within a seven-point window with each side pushing in front by seven points prior to halftime. The Knights used an Eli Campbell (Upper Marlboro, Md.) jumper with 10:08 left in the opening stanza to grab a 14-7 advantage, their largest lead of the period.
 
After gaining the lead following a 6-6 tie and following the Campbell conversion, the Mount would not trail in the half until a Nicholas Ovanessian jumper with 4:36 left before halftime pushed the Privateers in front 22-21. The jumper started a 12-4 run for Maritime that saw it grab its largest lead of the half, at 32-25, on a pair of Chris Ruscillo free-throws with 65 seconds left before the break.
 
Mount Saint Mary sliced the deficit down to 32-29 on a lay-ins from Kendall Francis (Great Neck, N.Y.) and Paul Sienke (Washington, D.C.), but a Mike Regan three-pointer at the horn sent Maritime into the intermission with a 35-29 advantage.
 
Mount Saint Mary converted at 37.9-percent prior to the break, going 1-for-4 from three-point range and 6-for-8 from the free-throw line. Maritime shot better than 45-percent for the half and outscored the Mount by five from the free-throw line. Francis and Ovanessian led all scorers at the break with 10 points apiece.
 
Maritime got out to a 42-34 advantage on a Griffin McNally bucket at the 16:48 mark of the second half, before the Knights stormed back with a 20-0 run covering just under five minutes to surge in front 54-42 with 12:05 left in regulation time. The Knights went 7-for-8 from the floor over the run and featured six different scorers led by six points each from Fox and Francis. Maritime was held without a field goal in eight chances over the Mount's run and turned the ball over twice.
 
After gaining its largest lead of the evening, the Mount allowed Maritime back to within a single point five times, but did not surrender the lead until a McNally bucket with 1:26 left to play gave the Privateers a 70-69 lead. The Maritime lead grew to three points on a McNally free-throw with 23 seconds left.
 
Tristan Millett (Allentown, N.J.) brought the Knights back to within a point with a jumper with 12 ticks left and after Brennan Whelan split two free-throws, Fox had a look from three at the horn that wouldn't fall, giving Maritime the final two-point decision.
 
Mount Saint Mary shot an efficient 55.6-percent after halftime and went 10-for-13 from the free-throw line, while Maritime dipped to 35.7-percent shooting, but outscored the Mount by five from the stripe after halftime.
 
Fox rounded out a strong night with 13 points, going 6-for-10 from the floor. He led the Knights with seven rebounds and blocked four shots. Sienke joined Fox with 13 points, going 6-for-11 from the field and adding five rebounds and a trio of assists.
 
Francis led all scorers in the game with 22 points, finishing the night 5-for-11 from the field with a three-pointer and an 11-for-14 effort from the free-throw line. He added four rebounds and three assists in the game for the Mount.
 
Campbell came off the bench to snatch five rebounds and chip in four points for the Mount, with Jameson Morton (Woodstock, N.Y.) chipping in six points, three rebounds and a pair of helpers.
 
Maritime was led by 21 points from Brendan McGovern who wrapped up the game 6-for-11 overall, 3-for-6 from three-point range and a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line. Ovananessian added 12 points with Whelan finishing with seven points and a game-high five assists.
 
Mount Saint Mary shot 46.4-percent for the game and went 3-for-12 from three-point range and 16-for-21 from the free-throw line. Maritime converted at just over 40-percent for the game, but hit two more triples and outscored the Mount by 10 from the free-throw line and by eight in bench points.
 
Tuesday's loss drops Mount Saint Mary to 6-16 overall and to 4-9 against league rivals. Next up for the Mount is a home date with the United States Merchant Marine Academy on Saturday. Tip-off with the Mariners at the Kaplan Center is set for 3:00 p.m.