Emmitsburg, Md. (January 31, 2009)--Kelly Beidler (Virginia
Beach, Va./Tallwood) recorded his fifth double-double of
the season to lead Mount St. Mary's past Wagner, 65-51, in
Northeast Conference action at Knott Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Beidler tallied 11 points and 13 rebounds to pace the Mount (13-9,
8-3 NEC) to its eighth straight victory before a season-high crowd
of 2,468.
Leading 37-31 early in the second half, the Mount used a 12-2 run
to take control of the game. Jeremy Goode (Charlotte,
N.C./Providence Day) started the run with a three-pointer,
a lay-up and a free throw to give the Mount a 12-point advantage.
Beidler and Markus Mitchell (Virginia Beach,
Va./Salem) each added baskets before Goode closed the
streak with a pair of free throws for a 49-33 lead with 11:57 left
in the game.
The Seahawks (10-11, 3-8 NEC) responded with seven straight points
to get back into the game, but that would be as close as Wagner
would get the rest of the way.
The Mount, which leads the NEC in both scoring defense and field
goal percentage defense, held Wagner to 35.2 percent shooting in
the game, including 25.9 percent in the second half. The Mount St.
Mary''s defense is allowing 48.3 points and 35.0 percent shooting
over its past three games.
Goode finished with 17 points, four rebounds and three assists in
the win while Jean Cajou (Fairfax, Va./Paul VI)
added 14 points and six rebounds in the game. Beidler added his
double-double of 11 points and 13 rebounds while Shawn Atupem
(Newport News, Va./Woodside) added 10 points off the bench in the
victory.
Wagner was paced by Jamal Smith and Llewchean Radford, who had 12
and 11 points, respectively, in the game.
The Mount
wore throwback uniforms from the school's 1962 NCAA College
Division National Championship team as part of the season-long
Centrennial Celebration of Mount basketball. The uniform jerseys
will be auctioned off at the Mount's website, www.mountathletics.com.
The eight-game win streak by the Mount is
the second-longest since moving to NCAA Division I in 1988-89. The
school won 15 straight games during the 1995-96 season.
The Mount heads to Long Island on
Thursday for a 7:00 p.m. NEC tilt in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Game Notes...The Mount
is now 5-14 against Wagner at Knott Arena and 13-25 all-time
against the Seahawks...The Mount hit 20-of-25 (.800) at the foul
line compared to Wagner's 10-of-20 (.500).
