Emmitsburg, Md. (November 26, 2013)--Rashad Whack scored a season-high 22 points to lead Mount St. Mary's to a 69-64 win over visiting Bucknell on Tuesday night at Knott Arena.  Sam Prescott and Julian Norfleet each added 13 points in the win as the Mountaineers stretched their homecourt win streak to eight.

Kristijan Krajina and Julian Norfleet scored the first two baskets of the second half to give the Mount a 42-30 lead.  The Mountaineers were able to maintain the lead, grabbing a 56-46 advantage after a Gregory Graves fast-break lay-up with 7:15 left in the game.

Bucknell made a run, scoring the next six points to cut the deficit to 56-52, but freshman Byron Ashe came through with a clutch three-pointer for the Mount for a 59-52 lead with 4:39 on the clock.

Whack converted a drive to the bucket with 2:29 left, but Bucknell made one final push, cutting the Mount advantage to 63-61 with 1:49 remaining on a Chris Hass three-point basket.

On the next possession, Norfleet was fouled and he calmly sank both free throws to give the Mount a 65-61 lead with 1:08 on the clock.  Bucknell turned the ball over on the next possession and Whack hit a pair of free throws with 40 seconds left to push the lead to 67-61.  From there, the Mount was able to close out the victory.

Whack hit 8-of-12 from the field while adding three assists to his season-high 22 points in the win.  Norfleet chipped in 13 points and seven assists while not committing a turnover in 36 minutes of playing time while Prescott added 13 points and seven boards.

For the game, the Mount shot 54.2 percent from the field and had 15 assists and just five turnovers.  The Mountaineers are averaging just 5.5 turnovers over the past two games.

Brian Fitzpatrick led Bucknell with18 points while Hass added 10 points off the bench.  Bucknell shot 46.3 percent from the floor in the game.

Mount St. Mary's (2-5) shot 68 percent in the opening half to take a 38-30 lead at the break.  Whack keyed an early 12-4 run that lifted the Mount to a 16-8 lead in the opening six minutes.  He scored eight points in the spurt, hitting a three-pointer, converting a traditional three-point play and nailing a pull-up jumper that capped the run.

The Bison (3-3) scored seven consecutive points midway thru the half to whittle the Mount advantage to 22-21, but Mount St. Mary's countered with a 7-0 run of its own to put the margin back to eight points.  Whack also keyed that run, sandwiching a pair of baskets around a Norfleet three-point basket.

Leading 33-30 with two minutes left in the half, freshman Will Miller knocked down a three-pointer while Krajina chipped in a lay-up to give the Mount a 38-30 halftime lead.

The Mount faces a tall task in the next game, visiting No. 1 Michigan State on Friday, November 29, for a 1:00 p.m. tip-off.  It will be the second time in school history the Mount has faced the nation's top team.  The Mount lost to No. 1 North Carolina, 113-74, in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in 2008.

Game Notes:  This was the first meeting between the Mount and Bucknell since January 2, 2002...Bucknell holds a 12-9 lead in the all-time series.