Mount St. Mary's Heads to Penn State on Tuesday

Mount St. Mary's continues its five-game road trip at Penn State on Tuesday night. The Mountaineers are coming off a heart-breaking 77-75 loss to Quinnipiac on Saturday.

Junior Danny Thompson's drive to the basket gave the Mount a 73-69 lead with 1:38 left in the game. On the next possession, Quinnipiac's James Johnson hit a heavily contested three-pointer as the shot clock expired to cut the Mount advantage to one. The Mountaineers countered with a Shawn Atupem basket to make the score 75-72, but Johnson answered with another three to even the score.

Johnson then came up with a steal on the Mount's final possession and scored the game-winning lay-up with 0.5 seconds on the clock.

Lamar Trice paced the Mount with a 17 points and six assists while Julian Norfleet chipped in 16. Shawn Atupem added 15 points and six boards and Danny Thompson posted career highs of 12 points, eight rebounds and three assists in the loss.

Atupem leads the Mount in both scoring (13.1) and rebounding this season (6.0). Trice is second on the squad at 12.8 points per game and leads the team with 29 assists. Norfleet is averaging 11.5 points and leads the Mount with 18 three-pointers.

Talor Battle scored 31 points to lead Penn State (6-2) to a 77-73 win over Duquesne on Saturday. Battle is averaging a team-best 20.3 points per game while Jeff Brooks is averaging 14.9 points and a team-high 7.8 rebounds per contest. The Nittany Lions are 6-1 at home this year, defeating the NEC's Central Connecticut State, 77-61, on Nov. 22.

Did You Know?...Senior forward Tayvon Jackson made his first collegiate start in 83 career games played in the Mount's 77-75 loss at Quinnipiac on Saturday. Jackson, a 6-7 forward, tallied six points, two rebounds and two assists in 17 minutes of action in the game. He has appeared in all eight games this year, averaging 1.4 points and 2.3 boards in 10.3 minutes per contest.

The All-Time Series with Penn State...Penn State holds a 5-0 lead in the all-time series that began in 1992.

* Penn State has won all five matchups in the all-time series. All five of the games have been played at Penn State.

* Four of the five matchups between the Mount and Penn State have been decided by 12 points or less while three of the five have been by seven points or less.

* In the last matchup between the two teams, the Mount lost to the Nittany Lions, 61-56, on Dec. 13, 2008. In that game, the Mount saw its late rally fall short in a 61-56 loss at Penn State on Saturday afternoon. Trailing by 11 with four minutes left, the Mount cut the deficit to three with 51 seconds on the clock. Penn State's Jamelle Cornley scored in the post with 20 seconds left to seal the win for the Nittany Lions.

* Shawn Atupem scored a team-high 12 points off the bench to pace the Mountaineers in the game. Jeremy Goode added 11 points and four assists while Jean Cajou chipped in 10 points and six rebounds. Talor Battle finished with 26 points, including 11-of-13 at the foul line, to pace the Nittany Lions while Cornley finished with 18 points and eight rebounds.

* The Mount does own wins over a Penn State school, going 12-2 against Penn State Forestry from 1911-1929.

Last Time Out...The Mount was edged by Quinnipiac, 77-75, on Saturday afternoon.

* Starting forward Raven Barber missed the game due to illness. Senior Tayvon Jackson started in his place, making his first collegiate start in his 83rd career game at the Mount.

* Lamar Trice paced four Mountaineers in double figures with 17 points and six assists. Julian Norfleet added 16 points, Shawn Atupem 15, and Danny Thompson career highs of 12 points, eight boards and three assists in the game.

* The Mountaineers shot a season-best 54.4 percent from the field in the game.

* The Mount led 73-69 with 1:38 left, but Quinnipiac guard James Johnson scored his team's final eight points to rally for the win.

* The Mount split its two-game road trip to start Northeast Conference play, downing Sacred Heart (66-52) before falling to preseason favorite Quinnipiac (77-75).

Mount St. Mary's vs. the Big 10...The Mount The Mount is 0-8 all-time against the Big 10 Conference since moving to NCAA Division I in 1988-89.

* The Mountaineers are 0-5 vs. Penn State, 0-1 vs. Ohio State, 0-1 vs. Minnesota and 0-1 vs. Michigan State. The loss to the Spartans (76-53) came in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 1999.

Finding the Range...Mount St. Mary's has been efficient in field goal percentage of late.

* Over the past five games, the Mount is shooting 47.0 percent from the field while producing 68.4 points per game.

* The Mount has been even better over the past two contests, hitting 51.5 percent from the floor while averaging 70.5 points.

* For the season, the Mount is hitting 44.1 percent from the field, which is second in the Northeast Conference behind Long Island (.449).

At the Stripe...Mount St. Mary's has also picked it up at the charity stripe, shooting 78.6 percent (55-of-70) on free throws over the past three games.

* For the season, the Mount is now shooting 70.0 percent at the line, making 126-of-180.

* Freshman Josh Castellanos is the Mount's top free throw shooter, converting 25-of-29 (.862) on the year. Freshman David Golladay (14-of-18, .778) and senior Shawn Atupem (.750, 27-of-36) are also shooting 75 percent or better at the line on the season.

From the Field...Mount St. Mary's shot 19-of-32 (.594) from the floor in the first half of the 77-75 loss at Quinnipiac.

* The 19 field goals made were the most in one half by a Mount team since gonig 19-for-29 (.655) in the second half of the Mount's 93-63 win over Saint Francis (Pa.) on Feb. 21, 2009.

* The 42-point effort in the first half of the game was the Mount's highest-scoring half of the season.

Non-Conference Numbers...Since joining NCAA Division I, the Mountaineers have struggled in non-conference play. The Mountaineers are 62-145 (.300) in non-conference games since the move to Division I in 1988-89.

* Of those 207 non-conference games, 122 have been on the road, 65 at home and 20 at a neutral site.

* The Mount is 20-102 on the road, 35-30 at home and 7-13 at a neutral site in non-conference action since 1988-89.

* The Mount has had just one winning season in non-conference play at the Division I level. The 2002-03 team went 5-4 in non-conference action before finishing the season with a 11-16 record.

Defending the Knott...The Mount has made Knott Arena a difficult place for the opposition in recent years.

* Mount St. Mary's had its 11-game homecourt win streak snapped by Navy, 81-68, on November 29. It was the Mount's second 11-game homecourt win streak since the start of the 2008-09 season.

* Mount St. Mary's is 24-6 (.800 winning pct.) at home over the past two seasons. Last year, the Mount went 10-3 at home after posting a 12-2 mark at Knott Arena in 2008-09.

* The Mount has been even better in Northeast Conference play, posting a 16-2 mark over its past 18 NEC regular season home games. Including the playoffs, the Mount has won 19 of its past 21 home games against NEC opponents on Jim Phelan Court.

* The Mount has recorded a winning record at home in each of the past five seasons and has been .500 or better at home in 18 of the 23 seasons since Knott Arena opened.

* All-time, the Mount has a 171-118 (.592) record at Knott Arena.

Road Warriors...With the calendar turning to December, the Mount will play eight of nine games on the road.

* December begins with a five-game road trip that begins with Northeast Conference games at Sacred Heart (Dec. 2) and Quinnipiac (Dec. 4). The trip also will see the Mount play at Penn State (Dec. 7), Loyola (Dec. 11) and Albany (Dec. 20).

* After the home game with American, Mount St. Mary's will face a tough three-game stretch at Northwestern (Dec. 23), at Vermont (Dec. 29) and at Virginia Tech (Jan. 2).

* Mount St. Mary's is 1-4 on the road this season and is 14-28 over its past 42 road contests.

December Musings...Mount St. Mary's is 52-92 all-time in the month of December since moving to NCAA Division I in 1988-89.

* The Mountaineers are 30-27 at home, 17-59 on the road and 5-6 at neutral sites in thos games.

* This season, the Mount will have seven of its eight December games on the road.

* The last time the Mount had a winning mark in the month of December was when the 2007-08 squad went 6-2.

Getting Defensive...Mount St. Mary's has been solid on the defensive end of the floor this season.

* The Mount is third in the Northeast Conference and 62nd in the country in field goal percentage defense (.389).

* The Mount allows 66.8 points per game and is holding opponents to 30.2 percent shooting from three-point range this year.

* According to the Pomeroy Ratings at www.kenpom.com, the Mount is 50th in the nation in two-point field goal percentage defense (.427) and 48th in the country in effective field goal percentage (eFG%), which is computed from (FGM + 0.5*3PM)/FGA. This differs from conventional field goal percentage by taking into account the extra value of a made 3-pointer.

Atupem Climbs Career Scoring List...Senior forward Shawn Atupem is has moved into 51st place on the Mount's all-time scoring list.

* Atupem has 880 points in 102 career games at Mount St. Mary's.

* He leads the Mount in scoring at 13.1 points per game this season, having scored 13 or more points in six of the Mount's eight games.

Barber Sets Up Shop in the Post...Sophomore Raven Barber posted his first collegiate double-double with 16 points and 10 boards in the Mount's 70-61 win against Florida A&M.

* The 6-8 forward is averaging 12.0 points and 6.8 rebounds over his past four games. Barber is 18-of-25 (.720) from the field during that stretch.

* Barber is currently second in the Northeast Conference in field goal percentage (.622). He was 6-for-6 from the field against Niagara with five of those field goals coming on dunks. Nine of Barber's 23 field goals this season have been dunks.

Balanced Attack...The Mountaineers have had a balanced offense with four players averaging double figures over the past five games.

* Lamar Trice is averaging a team-best 14.8 points during that stretch, followed by Raven Barber (12.0), Shawn Atupem (11.8) and Julian Norfleet (10.8).

* The Mount is averaging 68.4 points in that stretch, converting 47.3 percent from the field.

Trice Fills Stat Sheet...Junior guard Lamar Trice opened Northeast Conference play by averaging 19.0 points in a win over Sacred Heart and loss to Quinnipiac.

* Trice scored a career-high 21 points in the Mount's victory against the Pioneers while he added 17 points and six assists in the 77-76 loss to Quinnipiac.

* The 5-11 guard is averaging 12.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game.

Freshmen in the Lineup...The Mount started a trio of freshmen (Josh Castellanos, David Golladay, Julian Norfleet) the past four games.

* It was the first time since Nov. 30, 2005, that the Mount had a trio of freshmen in the starting five. That game, Joey Butler, Sam Atupem and Markus Mitchell started against La Salle.

* Golladay and Norfleet started the first four games for the Mount this season. It was the first time the Mount has had a pair of freshmen in the starting lineup since Jeremy Goode and Kelly Beidler started at Maryland on Dec. 28, 2006.

Third Coach in 57 Years...Robert Burke became the third men's basketball coach in 57 years at the Mount when his hiring was announced on May 10.

* Burke comes to the Mount with 22 years of Division I coaching experience, including helping 10 of his last 12 teams reach the postseason and six NCAA Tournament appearances, including the 2007 Final Four with Georgetown. He has coached 39 players who earned all-conference honors. In addition, he was named one of the top-10 assistant coaches in country according to a peer survey conducted by Fox Sports in 2008.

* He was an assistant coach under Jeff Jones at American last year. The previous nine seasons, he worked with John Thompson III at Georgetown (five years) and Princeton (four years). Burke was an assistant for Paul Hewitt at Siena (three seasons) while also serving as an assistant at Loyola Marymount (three seasons) and Maryland-Baltimore County (six seasons).

* Legendary Mount St. Mary's coach Jim Phelan was at the helm of the program for 49 years (1954-2003), posting 830 career wins. The Mount won the NCAA College Division National Championship in 1962 under Phelan while advancing to five NCAA Division II Final Fours. Phelan guided the Mount to the 1995 and 1999 NCAA Division I Tournaments.

* Milan Brown coached the Mount the past seven seasons, leading the team to the 2008 NCAA Tournament.

BCS Flavor...The Mount will be playing four teams from BCS conferences this season, the most in school history.

* Mount St. Mary's has road games against Cincinnati (Big East), Penn State (Big 10), Northwestern (Big 10) and Virginia Tech (ACC).

* The Mount has played three BCS schools in the same season on 10 occasions, including each of the past four years.

Brown and Krajina Out of the Lineup...Senior Pierre Brown and sophomore Kristijan Krajina are out indefinitely with injuries. Brown, who averaged 2.3 points and 1.2 rebounds in 31 games last year, is out with a foot injury. Krajina, a 6-9 forward who averaged 1.6 points and 1.1 rebounds in 20 games played last season, is out with an ankle injury.

Mount Signs Taylor Danaher to NLI... Mount St. Mary's has signed Taylor Danaher (Fredericksburg, Va./Fredericksburg Christian School) to a National Letter of Intent to enroll at the Mount next fall.

* Danaher, a 6-10, 200-pound center with a 7-2 wingspan, averaged 24 points, 14 rebounds and six blocks per game as a junior while playing in the Central Virginia Homeschool Athletic Association.

* He was named First Team All-Tournament at the Homeschool Sports Network Championships last March. Danaher played AAU with the Hoop Booth organization.

Cajou Takes Leave of Absence... Senior guard Jean Cajou has withdrawn from school and taken a leave of absence for the fall 2010 semester.

* "As Jean's coaches, teammates and friends we miss him very much," said head coach Robert Burke. "We are extremely hopeful he will return to school and the court for the second semester."

* Cajou, named to the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major All-Defensive team last season, averaged 9.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 2009-10.

* The 6-3 guard has started every game over the past two seasons, averaging 9.8 points in 98 career games for the Mountaineers.

* The 2008 Northeast Conference Tournament Most Valuable Player has 963 career points with 323 rebounds, 169 assists and 115 three-pointers made at the Mount.

The Mount and the Northeast Conference...The Mount is 185-194 all-time in NEC regular season games.

* The Mount is 110-78 at home and 75-116 on the road during the NEC regular season.

* Mount St. Mary's has posted a winning record in nine of the 21 seasons the team has been in the league.

* Since joining the league in 1989-90, the Mount has had 17 All-NEC selections, including six first-team honorees.

* The Mount won NEC Tournament titles in 1995, 1999 and 2008 and won the NEC regular season crown in 1995-96.

Strong Debut...Freshman guard Julian Norfleet tallied 15 points in his collegiate debut at Dayton

* The 15 points were the most by a Mount player in their collegiate debut since 2002. Landy Thompson, who is eighth all-time at the Mount with 1,733 career points, had 28 points in his first collegiate game at North Carolina State on Nov. 22, 2002.

* The only other double-digit performance by a freshman in their first game at the Mount since 2002 was from Sam Atupem, who had 13 points at Virginia Tech on Nov. 18, 2005. Atupem is the older brother of current Mountaineer Shawn Atupem.

* Norfleet had 16 points in his Mount debut, the most by a Mount player in their first home game since Jeremy Goode had 18 in a double-overtime win against James Madison in the 2006 home opener.

Norfleet Named NEC Co-Rookie of the Week...Freshman Julian Norfleet was named the Northeast Conference Co-Rookie of the Week on Monday.

* The freshman averaged 11.5 points per game in a win over Savannah State and a loss to Cincinnati.

* In a 69-59 loss at Cincinnat, Nofleet drilled a three-pointer with 59 seconds left to pull the Mount within 62-58. He finished the game with seven points, six rebounds and three assists.

* In the Mount's 68-62 overtime win over Savannah State, Norfleet's clutch shooting down the stretch helped the Mount rally from a seven-point deficit. Trailing 41-34 with eight minutes left, Norfleet hit a pair of three-pointers in a 12-0 run that helped the Mount regain the lead.

* After Savannah State rallied to send the game into overtime, Norfleet connected for a three-pointer 21 seconds into the extra session to give the Mountaineers the lead for good. He finished the game with a season-high 16 points, including a 5-for-10 mark from beyond the arc.

* Norfleet is the first Mountaineer to earn NEC Rookie of the Week honors since Shawn Atupem won the award on Feb. 18, 2008.

International Appeal...Sophomore Kristijan Krajina is the Mount's first international player since Pat Atangana (Cameroon, 2000-04).

* The Mount has had three other European players in the team's history. Robert Balgac (1996-00, New Belgrade, Serbia), Gerben Van Dorpe (Erembodegem, Belgium, 1994-98) and Matt Meakin (Awsworth, England) are the others.

* Other international players to don the Mount uniform include Rodolpho Ruiz (Tampico, Mexico, 1920-24), Roberto Ruiz (Tampico, Mexico, 1926-27) and Paul Miller (Havana, Cuba, 1920-21).