Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y. – Three Knights scored in double-figures, led by a team-high 15 points from
Elijah Barnett (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.), but it was not enough as the Mount Saint Mary College Men's Basketball team fell on the road at Bard by a score of 83-62 to open the 2022 Hudson Valley Classic Friday night.
Friday's loss drops Mount Saint to 1-2 overall through three games while the Raptors improve to 2-1 in the early going of the 2022-23 season.
First Half
- A tightly contested first half saw the Raptors carry a slim 36-33 lead into the intermission.
- After Bard converted the first bucket of the contest, the Knights jumped out a lead of four points twice in the opening 3:21 of play.
- The Knights maintained the advantage until the 13:45 mark when Rowan Heinze knotted the game at 11-11 for the Raptors.
- The Heinze conversion started a 10-2 run for Bard that saw it surge in front 19-13 on a Calvin Mader-Clark triple with 10:21 left before halftime.
- The Bard advantage grew to a half-high nine points, at 26-17, on an Elliot Harris triple with 6:34 left in the opening period.
- Following the Harris trey, the Knights ripped off a 16-5 stretch covering nearly five minutes to pull back in front 33-31 with just under two minutes left until halftime.
- Brenden Graham (Campbell Hall, N.Y.) started the run with a triple and scored half of the points in the surge as the Mount went 5-for-8 from the floor and 5-for-6 from the free-throw line.
- The late lead was short lived, as Bard finished off the opening stanza with the final five points to carry the one possession lead into the break.
- Greg Farrow converted a jumper on the ensuing possession to knot the score at 33-33 and then canned a triple in the closing seconds to give the Raptors a 36-33 halftime lead.
- Mount Saint Mary finished the first half shooting 41.4-percent overall and hit on three of its nine three-point attempts.
- Bard was limited to 30.2-percent shooting, but connected on five triples before halftime.
- Barnett and B. Graham led the Mount with eight points apiece before the break.
- Tyler Bruns paced the Raptors with eight first half points.
Second Half
- After being held to just over 30-percent shooting in the second half, Bard improved its conversion rate after the break to 53.3-percent and knocked down eight triples.
- Bard spread its lead to 45-37 early in the second half on a Harris three-pointer.
- The Raptors' advantage grew to double-figures for the first time in the game when Bruns hit a jumper just over five minutes into the second stanza to give Bard a 50-40 lead.
- The Bruns jumper started a 17-4 run for the Raptors that covered nearly six minutes and pushed their lead to 65-44 with 9:23 left to play.
- Bruns led the way in the run with nine points as the Raptors went 6-for-9 from the floor with three triples.
- A Chris Yearwood (Red Hook, N.Y.) bucket with 7:05 left moved the Mount to within 65-48, but the 17-point disadvantage was as close as the Mount would get the rest of the way.
- A pair of Connor Melis free-throws with 1:52 left gave the Raptors a game-high 83-54 advantage.
- The Knights finished with the final eight points of the contest, including a Jayden Racca (New Fairfield, Conn.) jumper with 14 seconds left to bring the Mount to within the final 83-62 decision.
- Bard finished the second half an efficient 16-for-30 from the field and a blistering 8-for-15 from three-point range.
- The Knights converted at 34.4-percent after halftime and went 3-for-9 again from distance.
- Barnett and Yearwood each scored seven second half points for the Mount
- Harris poured in 14 points after the break, going 5-for-7 from the floor and 3-for-4 from three-point range.
For The Knights
- Barnett scored in double-figures for the third straight game to start the season, netting 15 points on 6-for-11 shooting. He added four rebounds and three steals for the Knights.
- Yearwood scored 12 points, connecting on a pair of three-pointers.
- Jayden Figueroa (New Windsor, N.Y.) finished with 10 points and team-highs with eight rebounds and four blocked shots.
- Connor Cyran (Garfield, N.J.) hauled in seven rebounds and led the Knights with four assists.
For The Raptors
- Harris led al scorers with 18 points, going 6-for-12 from the field with four to go along with four steals.
- Bruns added 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
- Mader-Clark came off the bench to net 16 points, connecting on four triples, adding six boards and two steals.
- Azriel Almodovar finished with a game-high six assists and five steals.
Game Statistics
- Mount Saint Mary shot 37.7-percent from the floor in the game and went 6-for-18 from behind the arc.
- Bard converted at 39.7-percent and hit on 13 of its 40 three-point attempts.
- The Raptors outscored the Mount 12-10 from the free-throw line with the Mount converting just 53.3-percent of its free-throws.
- Bard finished with a 24-10 edge in transition points and turned 13 offensive rebounds into a 17-8 edge in second chance scoring.
- Bard forced 22 Mount Saint Mary turnovers leading to a 30-8 advantage in points off of miscues.
What's Next
- The Knights head to Vassar Saturday evening to tussle with the Brewers in game two of the Hudson Valley Classic.
- Bard will head to Poughkeepsie, N.Y. to take on New Paltz Saturday afternoon.
