Emmitsburg, Md. (December 18, 2007)--Senior Chris
Vann (Woodbridge, Va./Gar-Field) scored a game-high 21 points to
lead Mount St. Mary's to a 64-59 win against Winthrop at Knott
Arena on Tuesday night. The win stretched the Mount's win streak
to six, its longest winning streak since the 1995-96 season. The
Mount improves to 6-4 on the season.
Markus Mitchell's (Virginia Beach, Va./Salem) lay-up with 3:00 left
off a feed from Sam Atupem (Newport News, Va./Woodside) gave the
Mount the lead, 58-56. A Taj McCullough free throw cut the Mount's
lead to one, but Atupem scored on a lob pass on an inbound pass
from the side with 1:11 on the clock to put the Mount ahead,
60-57.
Charles Corbin converted a put-back with 45 seconds remaining to
cut the Mount's lead to one, but sophomore Jeremy Goode (Charlotte,
N.C./Providence Day) countered for the Mount with a scoop shot in
the lane with 14 seconds on the clock to give the Mount a 62-59
lead. Winthrop's Chris Gaynor then missed a three-pointer and the
Mount's Jean Cajou (Fairfax, Va./Paul VI) grabbed the rebound and
was fouled with five seconds left. Cajou calmly sank both free
throws to seal the victory.
"It was a big game in the fact that we were playing against a
program we are really and truly aspiring to be like," said Mount
St. Mary's head coach Milan Brown. "We're to the point that we
have enough guys to play against teams like Winthrop." Winthrop
(5-5) has been to the NCAA Tournament in seven of the past nine
seasons.
Vann finished 5-for-6 from three-point range en route to his
21-point effort. It was Vann's 10th 20-point game in his career at
the Mount. Atupem added 16 points and seven rebounds while Goode
chipped in 11 points, six assists, four rebounds and three steals.
the Mount shot 51.2 percent from the floor and was 9-of-14 (.643)
from three-point range in the contest.
McCullough scored 17 of his team-high 19 points in the second half
for Winthrop. Michael Jenkins added 11 points while Chris Gaynor
dished out a game-high seven assists. Winthrop shot 42.6 percent
in the game, including 11-of-21 (.524) from beyond the arc. The
Eagles, however, were 2-of-10 at the foul line.
The Mount returns to action on Friday, Dec. 21, against Lafayette
at Knott Arena on campus.
Game Notes...The 9-for-14 performance from
three-point range is tied for the 10th-best single game performance
by a Mount team...The six-game win streak is the second-longest by
a Mount team since the school moved to NCAA Division I in
1988-89...The longest win in the D1 era for the Mount is 15 by the
1995-96 team...Vann's five three-pointers tied a career high set
earlier this season at James Madison...The Mount moves to 4-4 in
non-conference action this season, the most non-conference wins in
Milan Brown's five years at the Mount...The Mount has held six
straight opponents under 60 points.
