Emmitsburg, Md. (February 19, 2015)--Byron Ashe scored a game-high 23 points to lead Mount St. Mary's past LIU Brooklyn, 82-65, on Thursday night at Knott Arena.  Gregory Graves added 18 points and five rebounds in the win for the Mountaineers.

Trailing 17-12 with 8:56 left in the first half, the Mount (13-13, 9-6 NEC) rattled off a 17-to-2 run to take a 29-19 advantage.  Graves started the run with a rebound basket, and Taylor Danaher tied the score with a three-pointer from the top of the key.  After a pair of Martin Hermannsson free throws, the Mountaineers took their first lead of the game when Will Miller was fouled on a three-point shot, and he hit all three free throws for a 20-19 advantage.

Ashe scored the next seven points of the game with Danaher capping the run with a lay-up on a feed from Charles Glover to put the Mount ahead by 10 points with 4:49 left in the half.

The Blackbirds (12-14, 8-7 NEC) cut the deficit to 36-30 on a lay-up by Glenn Feidanga with six seconds left in the half, but Andrew Smeathers put the Mount up eight at the break with a putback at the buzzer.

LIU scored the first bucket of the second half, but the Mountaineers took control from there, outscoring the Blackbirds 23-to-6 over the next seven minutes to take a 61-38 lead with 11:31 remaining.  Ashe and Gregory Graves each had seven points during the run with Smeathers chipping in five points.  An Ashe breakaway dunk off a steal and a Graves thunderous dunk on a fast break capped the spurt.  From there, the Mount cruised to the win.

Ashe finished with 23 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals for the Mount, giving him back-to-back 20-point games for the first time in his career.  Graves added 18 points and five boards with Smeathers chipping in 15 points and a team-high seven rebounds in the win.  Danaher added 11 points, four rebounds and three blocks for the Mount in the win.

Jamil Hood, Hermannsson and Elvar Fridriksson each had 11 points for LIU in the loss.

The Mount held LIU to 8-of-27 (.296) shooting in the second half, and just 37.3 percent in the game.  The Mount was 27-of-32 at the foul line and scored 28 points off 17 LIU turnovers.

The Mountaineers return to action on Saturday, February 21, with 2:00 p.m. home game against Fairleigh Dickinson at Knott Arena.

GAME NOTES:  The win snapped the Mount's four-game losing streak on Thursday nights...LIU Brooklyn holds a 29-26 lead in the all-time series...The Mount will celebrate the 20th anniversary of its 1995 NCAA Tournament team on Saturday.