Emmitsburg, Md. (December 6, 2007)--Junior forward
Sam Atupem scored a career high 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting from
the field to pace Mount St. Mary's to a 73-55 win over Long Island
at Knott Arena in the Northeast Conference opener for both teams on
Thursday night. The Mount (3-4, 1-0 NEC) led by as many as 27
points to earn their third straight victory.
Atupem scored six straight points to cap
an early 12-3 run that gave the Mount a 14-7 lead five minutes into
the contest. Leading by six with six minutes left in the half, the
Mount used a 14-4 run to take a commanding 41-25 lead at the half.
The Mount shot 44.7 percent from the field and committed just one
turnover in the opening half.
Mount St. Mary's extended the lead to as
much as 27 points, 71-44, with 2:43 left in the game to cruise to
the win. The Mount finished the contest shooting 48.3 percent from
the field and held a 41-35 advantage on the boards. The Mount held
Long Island (4-3, 0-1 NEC) to 35.2 percent shooting in the game.
The Blackbirds were 13-of-29 (.448) at the foul line in the
contest.
"We've done a real good job defensively,"
said Mount St. Mary's head coach Milan Brown. "It's a staple of
our program. We had to recommit ourselves to playing good
defense."
Atupem was 7-for-8 from the field for his
career high 17 points despite playing just 20 minutes due to foul
trouble.
""We tried to make a definite effort to
get the ball in Sam's hands tonight," said Brown. "He was very
aggressive when he touched the basketball."
Jeremy Goode added 13 points, six
rebounds, five assists and three steals while Chris Vann chipped in
13 points in the win for the Mount. A pair of freshman contributed
off the bench for the Mount. Tayvon Jackson added a career-high
six rebounds off the bench for the Mount while Shawn Atupem, Sam's
younger brother, gave the Mount a lift with career highs of six
points and four boards.
Ron Manigault paced Long Island with 15
points and eight boards while Aurimas Adomaitis added 10 points and
five rebounds.
Mount St. Mary's heads to defending
Northeast Conference champion Central Connecticut State on Saturday
for a 2:00 p.m. game.
Game Notes...The Mount
has won three in a row for the first time since a four-game win
streak late in the 2005-06 season...The Mount is allowing 56.0
points per game during the three-game win streak.
