Brooklyn, N.Y. (January 10, 2009)—Strong free throw shooting and a late first-half run propelled Mount St. Mary's to a 74-62 win over St. Francis (N.Y.) in Northeast Conference (NEC) action on Saturday. Jeremy Goode (Charlotte, N.C./Providence Day) led the Mount with 19 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals in the victory.

The Mount hit 23-of-31 (.742) from the foul line in the second half to earn the victory. Holding a 44-28 advantage early in the second half, Mount St. Mary's saw the Terriers (4-11, 2-3 NEC) rattled off 10 straight points to get back into the game. Jamaal Womack capped the run with a pair of free throws and a three-pointer to cut the Mount's lead to six with 13:58 left in the contest.

Mount St. Mary's (7-9, 2-3 NEC) answered with an 11-4 run to grab a 55-42 advantage. Shawn Atupem (Newport News, Va./Woodside) started the streak with a tough shot in the lane while Kelly Beidler (Virginia Beach, Va./Tallwood) and Goode added consecutive baskets to close out the run.

From there, the Mount was able to hit free throws and hold the Terriers at bay the rest of the game.

"We are excited to get a nice road win to close out a busy stretch of five games in 13 days," said Mount St. Mary's head coach Milan Brown. "I am proud of our effort and we can use this as a building block to continue to get better."

Goode led four Mount players in double figures in the game. Jean Cajou (Fairfax, Va./Paul VI) added 14 points, Beidler 13 and Sam Atupem (Newport News, Va./Woodside) 10 points in the victory.

The Mount won despite hitting just 5-fo-19 (.263) from the field in the second half. However, the Mount was 32-for-41 (.780) from the line in the game. For the contest, the Mount hit 44.2 percent from the floor while holding St. Francis (N.Y.) to 39.6 percent.

Womack led the Terriers with 22 points and seven assists while Nigel Byam had 12 points and John Gooden 11 in the loss.

With the score tied at 22-22 with 5:50 left, the Mount went on an 18-to-4 run to close the first half. Cajou started the spurt with a three-pointer while Goode scored the next six points of the game for a 31-22 advantage.

A Goode jumper, a Beidler three-pointer and two free throws from Sam Atupem helped the Mount close the half with seven straight points for a 40-26 advantage.

The Mount, which has won four of the past five games, shot 58.3 percent from the field in the opening half and hit 9-of-10 (.900) at the charity stripe. Mount St. Mary's held the Terriers to 41.7 percent shooting and held a commanding 19-to-6 advantage on the boards in the opening 20 minutes.

The Mount returns home to Knott Arena to face Long Island at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 15, in the first game of a four-game homestand.

Game Notes...The Mount has won five of the past six meetings with St. Francis (N.Y.)...The Mount held a 37-to-24 advangate on the boards.