Emmitsburg, Md. (March 8, 2009)--In a rematch of last year's NEC Championship game, second-seeded Mount St. Mary's (19-12) held off a late Sacred Heart rally to earn a 68-63 win and advance to the NEC Championship on Wednesday night.

Mount St. Mary's, which has won five straight NEC Tournament games, used a 10-2 run to take a 63-54 lead with 4:38 left in the game.

Senior Sam Atupem (Newport News, Va./Woodside) started the streak with a bucket in the pain while younger brother Shawn Atupem (Newport News, Va./Woodside) added a basket for a 57-52 lead. After a Pioneer free throw, Kelly Beidler (Virginia Beach, Va./Tallwood) and Will Holland (Houston, Texas./Lamar) converted back-to-back baskets for an eight-point lead. The Pioneers added another free throw and Beidler capped the streak with a jumper.

Corey Hassan hit a jumper, but was countered by a pair of Shawn Atupem free throws to make the score 65-56 before the Pioneers rallied.

Ryan Litke drained a three-pointer with 3:12 left in the game to start the run. Chauncey Hardy then stole the ball and converted the fast break lay-up to cut the Mount lead to 65-61 with 2:51 on the clock. Hardy was fouled on the play, but missed the free throw.

The Mount missed on its next possession, but Sacred Heart was called for traveling with 1:57 on the clock. The Pioneers forced another Mount miss and Hassan nailed a jumper to cut the deficit to 65-63 with 1:16 on the clock.

On the Mount's next possession, Ryon Howard blocked a Mount shot, but the ball went out of bounds with 45 seconds remaining and four on the shot clock. On the inbounds, Holland's three-pointer was off the mark giving the Pioneers a chance to even the score.

Howard missed a long jumper from the right corner and Jean Cajou (Fairfax, Va./Paul VI) grabbed the board and was fouled. Cajou, seventh in the nation in free throw percentage heading into the game, hit one-of-two for a 66-63 lead with 25 seconds left.

Sacred Heart set up Litke for a three-pointer at the top of the key with 10 seconds left, but his shot was off the mark and Shawn Atupem grabbed the board. Atupem fed the ball to Jeremy Goode (Charlotte, N.C./Providence Day), who fired a length of the court pass to Beidler, who was fouled intentionally with 4.7 seconds left. Beidler drained both free throws to seal the victory.

Beidler led the Mount with 13 points while adding five rebounds and three steals. Goode scored all 12 of his points in the first half, but missed half of the second half due to foul trouble. Shawn Atupem added 12 points and Holland 11 in the victory.

Hassan led the Pioneers with 15 points while Howard and Henley added 14 each in the loss.

Mount St. Mary's shot 46.2 percent from the floor in the game and held a 34-29 advantage on the boards. Sacred Heart shot 49.0 percent in the game. The Mount hit 16-of-22 (.727) at the foul line while the Pioneers were 8-of-14.

In a high-scoring first half, the Mount held a 40-39 lead at the break. Mount St. Mary's shot 59.1 percent while Sacred Heart shot 57.1 percent in the opening half.

Sacred Heart used a 7-0 run to take an early 16-9 lead with 14:33 left in the first half. With the Sacred Heart leading 28-24, the Mount took a 36-31 lead after a 12-to-3 spurt with 2:02 left. Goode's three-pointer with 3:58 left in the half gave the Mount a 29-28 lead and Cajou added five straight points to cap the streak.

The Mount advances to the NEC title game to face top-seeded Robert Morris at 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday night at the Sewall Center on the Robert Morris campus. The game will be televised live on ESPN2.