Riverdale, N.Y. - Elijah Barnett (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) led the scoring attack with 16 points and
Jayden Racca (New Fairfield, Conn.) produced a career-high 14 points, but the Mount Saint Mary College Men's Basketball team was unable to secure its second straight win following a tough 69-63 Skyline Conference defeat at the College of Mount Saint Vincent Saturday afternoon.
Saturday's loss drops Mount Saint Mary to 5-11 overall on the season and to 2-5 in conference play, while Mount Saint Vincent improves to 6-8 overall and 2-3 against league rivals.
First Half
- The opening 20 minutes was tightly contested with the two sides entering the intermission deadlocked at 27-27.
- Barnett opened the scoring with a lay-in 17 seconds into the tilt, but following four straight points from the Dolphins, the Knights would not lead again until late in the half.
- Mount Saint Vincent grew its lead to eight points on a D.J. Tucker bucket with 13:03 left before halftime.
- Sean Goodwin pushed the Dolphins in front by a half-high nine points with a jumper that made the score 22-13 with just over nine minutes left in the half.
- The Knights rallied with the next seven points, including a three-pointer from Chris Yearwood (Red Hook, N.Y.), that got the Mount to within 22-20 with 4:57 remaining in the opening period.
- After a Haven Smith jumper gave the Dolphins back a four point edge, the Knights got a three-pointer from Matthew Walsh (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.) and a pair of free-throws from Brenden Graham (Campbell Hall, N.Y.) to take a 25-24 lead, its first advantage since the early 2-0 edge.
- Mount Saint Vincent retook a 27-25 lead on a Dan Porcic triple, but Justin Rivera (Hazlet, N.J.) converted a layup with 21 seconds left in the period to send the two teams to the break on even terms at 27-27.
- Mount Saint Mary shot 40.9-percent overall in the first 20 minutes and went 3-for-8 from three-point range.
- Mount Saint Vincent was held to 35.3-percent shooting, but made three more field goals than the Knights before halftime.
- Racca led the Knights at the break with seven points.
- Porcic led all scorers at halftime with eight first half tallies for the Dolphins.
Second Half
- Mount Saint Mary opened the second half with the first four-points to jump in front 31-27 on a Barnett conversion in the opening minute of the period.
- After the Dolphins regained a 35-33 lead, the Knights ripped off the next 10 points, highlighted by triples from Barnett and B. Graham, to take their largest lead of the game at 43-35 with 14:10 left.
- The Dolphins hit back with the next eight points to knot the score before pulling back in front 46-45 on a Porcic three-pointer.
- Connor Cyran (Garfield, N.J.) converted a three-point play to bring the Mount back even at the 10:18 mark, but a Brian Rawlings bucket gave the Dolphins a 50-48 advantage and the lead for good in the contest.
- The Mount Saint Vincent lead grew to eight points on a pair of Joshua Cabezudo free-throws with 6:33 left to play and reached 67-58 on a Jalen Lewis dunk in the final minute.
- The Knights cut the disadvantage to five points on a Barnett three-pointer, but a Dillon Hod free-throw in the closing seconds gave the Dolphins the final 69-63 decision.
- Mount Saint Mary shot 39.4-percent from the floor after halftime and went 3-for-11 three-point range.
- Mount Saint Vincent converted at 38.7-percent overall and knocked down five triples.
- Mount Saint Vincent outscored the Knights 13-7 from the free-throw line after halftime.
- Barnett scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half.
- Cabezudo led the Dolphins with 12 second half points.
For The Knights
- Barnett led the way for the Knights with 16 points on 5-for-8 shooting, including a pair of triples. He added five rebounds and a blocked shot.
- Racca came off the bench to net a career-high 14 points, going 6-for-13 from the floor to go along with five rebounds.
- Cyran chipped in 11 points and closed a double-double with 12 rebounds. Cyran finished off a strong all-around game with four assists and two steals.
- Yearwood rounded out the day with eight points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals.
For The Dolphins
- Cabezudo and Porcic joined Barnett in matching the game-high with 16 points. Porcic knocked down four three-pointers with Cabezudo posting five assists and two steals.
- Tucker wrapped up the win with 15 points and seven rebounds.
- Lewis blocked three shots for the Dolphins.
Game Statistics
- Mount Saint Mary shot an even 40-percent from the floor and went 6-for-19 from three-point range.
- Mount Saint Vincent finished shooting 36.9-percent overall and went 7-for-28 from long range.
- Mount Saint Mary held a 28-24 edge in paint points.
- Mount Saint Vincent finished with a 15-9 advantage in second chance scoring.
What's Next
- Mount Saint Mary plays host to St. Joseph's-L.I. on Wednesday.
- Mount Saint Vincent welcomes USMMA on Tuesday.
