Emmitsburg, Md. (January 30, 2014)—Mount St. Mary's rallied from a late nine-point deficit to top Fairleigh Dickinson, 87-82, in overtime at Knott Arena on Thursday night.  Rashad Whack posted his first career double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds in the victory.  Point guard Julian Norfleet added a double-double of his own with 17 points and 11 assists.

The hero of the game, however, was Mount senior Sam Prescott, who tied the game with a three-pointer with 5.4 seconds left in regulation and then opened the overtime period with a traditional three-point play to spark the Mountaineers (8-12, 4-3 NEC) to the win.

On the game-tying play, the Mount got the ball to freshman Will Miller, who kicked the ball to Prescott on the right wing.  Prescott, who was 0-for-2 from the field in the game at the time, drilled the shot to even the score.

The Knights (8-13, 4-3 NEC) had a chance to win, as Sidney Sanders, Jr., drove the length of the court, but saw his shot over Mount 7-0 center Taylor Danaher carom off the front rim at the buzzer.

Sanders, Jr., was the key figure during a 12-0 run that gave Fairleigh Dickinson a 67-58 advantage with 3:46 left in the game.  After Mustafaa Jones hit back-to-back three-pointers to give FDU a 61-58 lead,   Sanders added a free throw, a lay-up, and a three-pointer to cap the run to give the Knights the nine-point advantage.

The Mount held FDU without a field goal the rest of the way to rally for the tie.  Norfleet started an 11-2 run over the closing 3:46 for the Mount with a jumper.  Whack added a three-pointer before Norfleet hit 1-of-2 at the line to make it 67-64 with 1:30 on the clock. 

FDU kept the ball for the next minute, grabbing a pair of offensive rebounds, but the Mount finally got the defensive stop to get the ball back with 30 seconds remaining.  Danaher then cut the deficit to 67-66 with 16 seconds left on an offensive rebound after Byron Ashe's three-pointer from the left corner rimmed out.  Sanders was fouled on the inbounds to make it 69-66, setting up Prescott's game-tying three-pointer.

Prescott opened overtime with a traditional three-point play to give the Mount the lead for good.  After FDU's Scooter Gillette hit 1-of-2 at the line, the Mount went on a 13-to-3 run to seal the win.  Whack opened the run with a three-pointer and a lay-up off a steal to make it 77-70 with 3:05 left.  Prescott added a lay-up, and the Mount's Gregory Graves added a dunk and six free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

Whack led all scorers with 23 points while adding 10 rebounds and three steals in the win.  It was his first career double-double, and his seventh 20-point game of the year.  Norfleet also added a double-double with 17 points and 11 assists for the Mount.  It is the first time the Mount had two players post double-doubles in the same game since Kelly Beidler and Jeremy Goode  achieved the feat against LIU Brooklyn on Jan. 16, 2010.

Graves finished with 15 points and eight rebounds off the bench while Ashe added 11 points and a pair of assists in the win.

Sanders, Jr., led FDU with 21 points and five assists while Matt MacDonald (11 points), Xavier Harris (11 points) and Jones (10 points) all reached double figures.

The Mount shot 40.3 percent overall and was 9-for-30 (.300) from three-point range in the game.  Mount St. Mary's forced FDU into 22 turnovers in the contest.  FDU shot 42.9 percent overall and was 6-of-16 (.375) from beyond the arc.

Fairleigh Dickinson outscored the Mount 22-to-10 over the final 10:39 of the first half to take a 38-30 lead at the half.  Harris led the Knights with 11 points in the half, hitting 5-of-5 from the field, as FDU shot 50.0 percent overall and had 20 points in the paint.

The Mountaineers are back in action on Saturday, February 1, with a 2:30 p.m. game against LIU Brooklyn.