Emmitsburg, Md. (February 16, 2008)--Jeremy Goode
scored 21 points and Chris Vann added 20 to lead Mount St. Mary's
past Quinnipiac, 77-70, at Knott Arena on campus on Saturday
night. The win stretched the Mount's win streak to three and
clinched a spot in the Northeast Conference Tournament.
The Mount (13-13, 9-6 NEC) used an 8-0 run early in the second half
to take a 45-33 advantage. Quinnipiac was able to stay in the game
and used an 8-1 run of its own to cut the Mount's lead to 59-56
with 4:54 left in the contest. The Bobcats got a stop on the
defensive end and had a chance to tie, but Casey Cosgrove's
three-pointer was off the mark. On the next possession, Markus
Mitchell grabbed an offensive rebound and converted a putback to
give the Mount a five-point advantage with 3:51 left.
DeMario Anderson countered with a pair of free throws, but the
Mount then scored the next six points to take control. Freshman
Shawn Atupem hit a tough shot in the lane to start the run while
Vann scored the next four points to give the Mount a 67-58 lead
with 1:38 left. Quinnipiac trailed 73-68 with 29 seconds left and
had the ball, but Sam Atupem rejected Bryan Geffen's shot in the
lane. Goode gathered the ball near midcourt and cruised in for a
lay-up to seal the win.
With the win, the Mount moves one-half game behind Quinnipiac for
fourth-place in the Northeast Conference standings. The top four
teams in league play earn a home game in the first round of the
playoffs. In addition, the Mount clinched its third-straight NEC
Tournament spot.
Goode finished with 21 points and six assists while hitting 8-of-13
from the floor to pace the Mount offense. Vann scored 20 points
for the second straight game while adding a career-high eight
rebounds. He was 4-for-4 from the line and is 44-for-47 (.936)
from the charity stripe over the past 18 games. Mitchell added 12
points and eight rebounds for the Mount while Jean Cajou and Kelly
Beidler chipped in seven points each off the bench.
Anderson, the second-leading scorer in the NEC, scored a game-high
23 points, but was 8-for-20 from the field in the contest. James
Feldeine added 12 points and Cosgrove 10 in the loss.
The Mount held Quinnipiac, the top offensive team in the NEC in
league games, to 39.1 percent shooting from the field and 4-of-16
(25.0 percent) from three-point range. The Mount hit 45.0 percent
from the field and was 7-of-18 (.389) from beyond the arc.
In the first half, the Mount used a 13-6 run late in the half to
take an 11-point advantage before Quinnipiac's Geffen hit two free
throws to cut the Mount lead to 37-28 at the break. The Mount held
Quinnipiac to 29 percent shooting in the half.
The Mount returns to action on Thursday, Feb. 21, when they travel
to NEC co-leader Robert Morris for a 7:00 p.m. game.
Game Notes...The Mount has clinched a .500 record
in NEC play this season, marking the third straight year the Mount
will have a .500 or better mark in league play...The Mount is 29-22
in NEC contests since the 2005-06 season...The Mount evened the
all-time series with Quinnipiac at 9-9 with the victory...Vann has
scored 20 or more points 16 times in his career at the Mount...Vann
now has 76 three-point field goals, the fourth-best single-season
mark in Mount history.
