Emmitsburg, Md. (January 19, 2008)--A 16-to-5 run
to close out the game lifted Sacred Heart to a 67-59 win over Mount
St. Mary's in Northeast Conference action at Knott Arena on
Saturday night. Brice Brooks scored 19 points to pace the Pioneers
(9-10, 6-2 NEC) to the victory. Chris Vann led the Mount (8-10,
4-3 NEC) with 16 points in the loss.
The Mount held a 54-51 lead with 4:28 remaining after Jeremy Goode
hit 1-of-2 at the foul line. Sacred Heart's Chauncey Hardy nailed
a three-pointer on the next possession to even the score. After
Goode hit 1-of-2 at the line again, Brice Brooks converted a
traditional three-point play at the 3:20 mark to give Sacred Heart
a 57-55 advantage. Sam Atupem's jumper at the 2:47 mark evened the
score, but Ryan Litke and Drew Shubik each went 2-for-2 at the line
to give Sacred Heart a 61-57 advantage with 1:38 on the clock.
After Vann converted 1-of-2 at the line to cut the deficit to
61-58, Litke drained a three-pointer with 1:09 left in the contest
to seal the victory.
"It was a tough one tonight," said Mount St. Mary's head coach
Milan Brown. "Both teams played really hard, but they just made a
couple more plays the last five minutes than we did."
Brooks went 6-for-9 from the field and 7-of-9 at the line for his
game-high 19 points. Litke added 11 points and Hardy 10 in the
victory. Vann led the Mount with 16 points despite hitting 3-of-12
from the field. Atupem went 7-for-9 from the floor for 15 points
while Goode added 14 points in the loss. Kelly Beidler chipped in
six points and a team-high nine boards off the bench for the
Mount.
In the first half, the Mount jumped to a 16-to-9 lead after an
Atupem lay-up just eight minutes into the game. The Pioneers
rallied with a 13-0 run to take a 22-16 advantage. The Mount
answered with an 8-0 run of its own, with all eight points coming
on free throws, to take a 24-22 lead with 2:57 left in the half.
Sacred Heart, however, rattled off a 9-for-4 to close the half with
a 31-28 lead.
Sacred Heart shot 42.0 percent in the game, but was 11-for-20 (55.0
percent) from the floor in the second half. The Mount shot 37.5
percent in the contest and was 4-of-14 (.286) from three-point
range.
The Mount heads to Wagner for a 7:00 p.m. game on Thursday, Jan.
24, for their next game.
Game Notes...Tip-off was delayed 35 minutes due to
a problem with the basket...The Mount is now 0-10 this season when
trailing at halftime...Sacred Heart snapped a four-game losing
streak at Knott Arena with the victory...The Mount is now 4-5 at
home this season...Sacred Heart is a perfect 5-0 on the road in NEC
games this season...Vann saw his consecutive free throws made
streak end at 23 when he missed his final free throw of the
game.
