The Mount St. Mary’s men’s basketball team topped Marist on Sunday, 59-55, behind a balanced scoring effort from the starting five to snap a four-game losing streak. Jalen Benjamin scored 15 points to lead four Mountaineers in double figures in the homecourt victory. The Mount shot 69.2 percent (9-of-13) from 3-point range to improve to 7-13 overall and 3-6 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
The Mount starting lineup of Dakota Leffew, Deandre Thomas, Benjamin, George Tinsley and Jedy Cordilia combined to score all 59 points for the Mount in the victory. This was the first time in seven games that the Mountaineers used the same starting lineup in back-to-back games. Injuries have forced the Mount to use a different starting combination in the six prior contests.
Trailing 8-5 early in the game, the Mountaineers used an 8-0 run to take the lead. Benjamin and Thomas connected on 3-pointers and Tinsley hit a pair of free throws to give the Mount a five-point lead. Benjamin hit a pull-up jumper for a 24-17 advantage, and despite Marist getting a putback basket from Javon Cooley at the buzzer, the Mount led by four, 26-22, at the break.
Marist (7-11, 3-6 MAAC) came out strong in the second half and tied the score at 29-29 after a Noah Harris three-point basket. Mount St. Mary’s answered with the next seven points on a Leffew step back jumper, a Benjamin pull-up and a Leffew triple. The Mount held a 47-41 lead at the midpoint of the second stanza after Tinsley connected on a three, but Marist scored the next six points to tie the score with just over eight minutes on the clock. Cordilia gave the Mount the lead on a jumper from the right baseline, and Leffew added a pair of free throws for a four-point advantage.
The Red Foxes cut the Mount’s lead to 54-52 on an Isaiah Brickner bucket, but Cordilia connected on a turn-around jumper and then hit 1-of-2 at the foul line with 3:01 left for a 57-52 lead. After the Mount got a pair of stops, Benjamin scored on a drive for a 59-52 lead. Harris had a 3-pointer bounce in with 40.1 seconds on the clock to make it 59-55, but the Mount was able to hold on for the win despite missing the front end of a one-and-one twice in the closing seconds.
Benjamin led the Mount with 15 points, hitting 6-of-13 from the field and both of his 3-point attempts. Cordilia followed his career-high 16-point effort at Siena on Friday with 13 points and seven rebounds in the win today. Tinsley added 12 points and five rebounds while Leffew chipped in 10 points and five assists. Thomas just missed his first career double-double, finishing with nine points and a career-high 11 boards. Patrick Gardner led Marist with 17 points with Harris finishing with 14 in the loss.
The Mount finished the game shooting 43.5 percent (20-of-46) overall, but was a sizzling 9-for-13 (.692) from 3-point range, including 6-for-7 (.857) from 3-point range. Marist shot 38.9 percent (21-of-54) overall and was 8-of-25 (.320) from beyond the arc.
Mount St. Mary’s remains home to host Fairfield on Thursday, for a 7 p.m. matchup at Knott Arena.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Mount St. Mary’s utilized a tenacious defensive effort to earn a road victory over Saint Peter’s Saturday. Holding the opponent to a season low of 42, the Mount won by 19 to improve to 8-10 (4-5 MAAC) on the year.
For the Mountaineers, it’s the first triumph away from home for 2022-23.
Fresh off a 29-point effort on Thursday, Michaela Harrison led the offense once again with another 16 points. Aryna Taylor joined her in double figures with 10. Natalie Villaflor matched a career high with 11 rebounds.
Saint Peter’s got 11 points off three treys from Amaris Mills. The Peacocks dropped to 0-18 (0-9 MAAC).
Hitting three of their first seven triples while limiting the Peacocks to an average of one shot per minute, the Mount sprinted out to a 12-4 lead. Saint Peter’s called a timeout to regroup and found a way to find success from long range. Jada Leonard’s three at the minute mark gave SPU a brief lead before Harrison caused a turnover, allowing Taylor to hit a layup at the horn.
Both teams struggled scoring in the second period, as Harrison’s three-pointer at 5:43 was the lone bucket before the media timeout. But with Harrison and Taylor in foul trouble, the Mount turned to their teammates to finish the half. Jessica Tomasetti provided the offense, scoring the last six points. The entire defense held their end of the bargain, keeping the Peacocks to four points in the frame. The visitors took a 28-19 advantage to the locker room.
Tomasetti got the offense rolling with a triple to start the second half scoring. Isabella Hunt added a floater to push the Mount’s lead to 10 and force another Peacocks timeout. Thanks to both teams reaching the bonus, the third quarter produced the most offense. The Mount scored 20 to lead 48-33 after three quarters.
Defense continued to lock in as the teams coasted through the fourth quarter. Villaflor and Jo Raflo paced the offense while the team stymied the opposition to two made baskets in the frame.
Mount St. Mary’s goes back on the road Thursday to battle Fairfield.
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