Box Score Washington, D.C. (December 20, 2014)—Mount St. Mary's was edged by American on a Pee Wee Gardner bucket with 0.5 seconds left on Saturday afternoon at Bender Arena. Andrew Smeathers and Gregory Graves each scored eight points to pace the Mount in the game.
The Mount (3-6) rallied from a seven-point second-half deficit to take the lead late in the contest. Trailing 39-32 with 7:02 remaining, the Mountaineers rattled off seven consecutive points to even the score.
Smeathers, playing his first game in a Mount uniform after transferring from Butler, hit a three-pointer from the top of the key to start the run. Graves added a pair of free throws, and Taylor Danaher's putback evened the score at 39-39 with 4:37 left.
American's Marko Vasic hit a three-pointer on the next possession, but Smeathers countered with a triple of his own to tie the game at 42-42 with 3:38 left.
Gardner's lay-up with 2:53 on the clock gave the Eagles (7-4) at 44-42 lead, but the Mount's Khalid Nwandu came through with a clutch three-pointer with 2:23 left to give the Mount a 45-44 advantage.
The score remained tied from there until Gardner's game-winning basket. American missed a three-pointer and a free throw ahead of a Mount missed three-pointer by Graves with 1:16 left. American turned the ball over with 54 seconds on the clock to give the Mount possession.
Smeathers was off the mark on a three-pointer with 25 seconds left, but Kristijan Krajina was able to collect the offensive rebound to maintain possession. The Eagles then had to foul, and Junior Robinson went to the line with 15 seconds remaining for a 1-and-1. His first free throw was off the mark, giving American the final possession.
Gardner then converted a tough drive in the paint for the winning shot with 0.5 seconds left.
Smeathers finished 2-for-6 from the field and 2-for-5 from three-point range en route to his eight-point effort in his first game with the Mount. Graves added eight points and six rebounds while Danaher had his best effort of the year, tallying six points and a career-high 12 rebounds. Nwandu added seven points off the bench in the balanced Mountaineer scoring.
Gardner finished with a game-high 17 points with Jesse Reed adding 10 in the win for American.
The Mount shot 34.0 percent (17-of-50) overall and was 7-of-20 (.350) from three-point range in the game. Mount St. Mary's held a 35-to-27 advantage on the boards, including 14 on the offensive end. American shot 21-for-46 (45.7 percent) in the game.
In the first half, Mount St. Mary's jumped out to an early 9-4 lead behind a pair of three-pointers from Graves and a triple by Will Miller. American responded by scoring the next seven points, and from that point, the biggest lead for either team was two points.
Mount St. Mary's struggled from the field in the first half, shooting just 28.6 percent (8-of-28). The Mount held a 21-to-13 edge on the boards, including an 8-0 margin on the offensive glass. Graves had six points and five boards in the first half with Taylor Danaher grabbing six boards in the opening 20 minutes.
Mount St. Mary's returns home on Monday to face Binghamton with tip-off set for 7:00 p.m. at Knott Arena.
Game Notes: This was the 63rd meeting all-time between the Mount and American…American holds a 33-30 lead in the series.
