Teaneck, N.J. (January 15, 2015)—Gregory Graves and Byron Ashe each scored 21 points to lead Mount St. Mary's past Fairleigh Dickinson, 71-51, on Thursday night at Stratis Arena.  The Mountaineers used a strong defensive effort in the first half to take control of the game.

Graves stuffed the stat sheet with 21 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high six steals for the Mount.  It is his third double-double in five Northeast Conference games this year.  Ashe hit 8-of-12 from the field and was 4-for-8 from three-point range for a career-high 21 points.

Playing without leading scorer Andrew Smeathers, who missed the game with a leg injury, Mount St. Mary's used a big defensive effort in the first half to take control of the game.

The Mount held Fairleigh Dickinson to three points over the first 10:30 of the game to open a 14-3 advantage.  Ashe converted back-to-back three-pointers during the run.

After an Earl Potts, Jr. basket, the Mount continued the surge with seven straight points by Ashe.  He slammed home a dunk on a Graves steal, and then had a steal and dunk on the next possession to push the lead to 18-5.  Ashe closed his hot streak with a three-pointer to make it 21-5 with 7:00 left in the half.

The Mount (7-9, 3-2 NEC) pushed its lead to 20 points on an Ashe three-pointer, and a Graves steal and lay-up before Marques Townes scored the final basket of the half for FDU to cut the Mount lead to 33-15 at the break.

The Mountaineers held FDU to 21.7 percent shooting (5-of-23) from the field, including a 0-for-10 performance from three-point range.  The Mount also forced the Knights into 11 first-half turnovers.  Ashe scored 16 points in the first half for the Mount, hitting 4-of-7 from beyond the arc.

After scoring the first five points of the second half to take a 38-15 lead, the Mount saw Fairleigh Dickinson whittle the margin to 44-37 after a Malachi Nix three-pointer with 10:27 left in the half.

The Mount responded with consecutive baskets from Khalid Nwandu and a Graves three-point play to push the lead to 51-37.    A pair of Chris Martin free throws made it a 16-point game, but Nix converted a four-point play with 5:08 left to cut the Mount lead to 53-41.  That would be as close as FDU would get the rest of the way.

The Mount held FDU (7-9, 2-3 NEC) to 33.3 percent shooting in the game while forcing 19 turnovers.  Mount St. Mary's also held a 37-30 edge on the boards.  Offensively, the Mount shot 41.7 percent from the field and was 26-of-31 (.839) at the foul line.

Kristijan Krajina had a strong game for the Mount with six points and eight rebounds with Nwandu adding seven points and five assists.

Townes scored a team-high 17 points while Nix chipped in 15 for the Knights in the loss.

The Mountaineers are back in action on Saturday, January 17, when they face LIU Brooklyn at Barclays Center.  Tip-off is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.

Game Notes:  Fairleigh Dickinson holds a 26-24 lead in the all-time series…The Mount has won 10 of the past 12 meetings between the two teams.