Patchogue, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College Men's Basketball team took to the road on Saturday afternoon, dropping a 76-57 Skyline Conference decision at St. Joseph's-L.I.
Connor Cyran (Garfield, N.J.) led the Mount Saint Mary scoring attack with a team-high 14 points.
Saturday's loss, the Mount's second straight defeat, drops it to 5-8 overall on the season and 3-2 in Skyline Conference play. The Golden Eagles creep above the .500 mark at 8-7 overall and improve to 4-4 in conference competition.
First Half
- After trailing by four points in the early going, the Knights ripped off seven straight points, including a three-pointer from Jack Lotito (Staten Island, N.Y.), to pull in front 9-6 just over five minutes into the contest.
- The Knights maintained the lead until the 12:40 mark of the period when Ryan McNeely canned a triple for the Golden Eagles to give them back a 13-11 edge.
- J.P Egan (Lansdale, Pa.) brought the Knights even at 17-17 at the 10:21 mark of the opening stanza with a jumper before St. Joseph's scored the next four points to regain a 21-17 edge with 6:48 left before halftime.
- Jayden Figueroa (New Windsor, N.Y.) hit a pair of free-throws with 4:52 left in the half to give the Knights a slim 27-26 advantage and a Cyran conversion at the 2:56 mark put the Knights out front 29-27.
- Following the Cyran bucket, the Knights would manage just four more points in the half and the Golden Eagles scored the final four points of the frame, including a Jake Gaudiello triple in the closing seconds, to give St. Joseph's a 39-33 lead at the intermission.
- Mount Saint Mary converted at an efficient 51.9-percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes and connected on a trio of three-pointers.
- St. Joseph's shot better than 59-percent from the floor before halftime, also hitting on three triples.
- Cyran led the Mount at the break with nine points, going 4-for-6 from the floor.
- Spencer Malloy led all players at the break for St. Joseph's with 10 tallies.
Second Half
- St. Joseph's came out of the break and scored the first 10 points of the second half, keyed by three-pointers from Gaudiello and Matthew Hirdt, to open a 49-33 lead.
- Mount Saint Mary was held without a field goal in the second half until the 15:06 mark when Jayden Racca (New Fairfield, Conn.) hit a three-pointer to cut the disadvantage to 49-36.
- The 13-point deficit following the Racca three-pointer would be as close as the Knights would get, as St. Joseph's answered back with a Gaudiello three-pointer on the next possession to spread the lead back to 16 points.
- Following the Gaudiello three-pointer, the Golden Eagles would keep the Knights behind by at least 14 points and grabbed a game-high 76-55 advantage on a Kevin O'Halloran trey with 12 seconds left.
- Tom Spero (Massapequa, N.Y.) converted a bucket at the horn to bring the Knights to within the final 76-57 decision.
- Mount Saint Mary cooled to 40-percent shooting in the second half, including a 3-for-8 effort from three-point range.
- St. Joseph's shot just over 44-percent after halftime and connected on five second half three-pointers.
- Ryan Graham (Campbell Hall, N.Y.) led the Knights in the second half with seven points.
- St. Joseph's was paced by 10 second half points from Gaudiello.
For The Knights
- Cyran reached double-figures for the fifth time this season for the Knights with his 14 points. He closed the day 6-for-12 from the floor, including a pair of triples, to go along with four rebounds, a block and a steal.
- Figueroa hauled in eight rebounds, adding eight points and a team-high three assists.
- Graham and Racca each totaled seven points with Graham chipping in four rebounds and a pair of assists.
For The Golden Eagles
- Gaudiello and Alec Tabada led the scoring charge with 15 points apiece. Gaudiello connected on a trio of triples, swiped four steals and dished out eight assists, while Tabada hauled in eight rebounds and blocked four shots.
- Malloy wrapped up the win with 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
- Hirdt came off the bench to score 12 points on 5-for-9 shooting, adding three helpers.
Game Statistics
- Mount Saint Mary closed the day shooting 46.2-percent, including a 6-for-17 mark from three-point range.
- St. Joseph's shot just under 51-percent and 42.1-percent from three-point range.
- The Golden Eagles finished with an 18-5 advantage in points off of turnovers and a 36-28 edge in points in the paint.
What's Next
- Mount Saint Mary travels to Sarah Lawrence on Monday evening.
- St. Joseph's plays host to Purchase on Wednesday.
