Smithfield, R.I. (February 5, 2015)—Mount St. Mary's saw its potential game-winning shot in the closing seconds roll out in a 55-53 loss at Bryant on Thursday night.  Gregory Graves paced the Mount with a team-high 14 points.

The Mountaineers rallied from a nine-point deficit with 6:33 left to make things interesting.  Trailing 52-43, the Mountaineers (10-12, 6-5 NEC) scored eight consecutive points to cut the Bryant lead to one.

Byron Ashe started the run with a three-pointer from the top of the circle to make it a six-point game.  A pair of Graves free throw cut it to 52-48, and Junior Robinson drilled a three-pointer from the left corner to make it a one-point game with 2:56 left in the contest.

Bryant's Dyami Starks scored on a drive to push the lead back to 54-51, and Ashe had a lay-up rattle out on the other end.  The Bulldogs were then able to whittle two minutes off the clock thanks to a pair of offensive rebounds.

The Mount finally got a stop, and Ashe converted a pair of free throws with 12.2 seconds left to cut the lead to 54-53.  The Mount then forced a turnover with Graves missing a baseline jumper.  The Mount retained possession with 5.1 seconds left after a scramble for the loose ball.

The Mount got the ball to Graves in the paint, but saw his shot rattle in and out, and the Mount had to foul with 0.6 seconds left.  Shane McLauglin hit one of two at the line, but the Mount was unable to get a shot off at the end, and Bryant (11-11, 8-3 NEC) escaped with the win.

Graves finished with 14 points, five rebounds and three assists while Robinson added 12 points, hitting 4-of-7 from three-point range in the game.  Kristijan Krajina tallied seven points and eight rebounds with Miller adding nine points off the bench in the loss.

Starks and Bosko Kostur each scored 17 points for Bryant in the win.

The Mount shot just 35.8 percent in the game, including 6-of-24 (.250) in the second half.  The Mountaineers were 10-of-27 (.370) from three-point range.  Bryant shot 41.7 percet and held a 34-to-28 advantage on the boards.

The teams traded three-point baskets in the early going, with the Mount grabbing a 14-9 lead with Graves and Robinson each hitting two triples during the run.

Bryant responded with a 9-0 run to take a two-point lead, but a Khalid Nwandu lay-up and a Miller three-point put the Mount back ahead.

From there, the game remained tight, with Bryant taking a 29-26 lead on a Hunter Ware jumper with 4:06 left in the half.  The Mount regained the lead by closing the half on an 8-3 run for a 34-32 advantage.  The run was capped by three-pointers from Robinson and Miller.

The mount shot 44.8 percent in the first half, including 7-of-15 from three-point range.  Bryant hit 48.0 percent while holding a 16-to-13 edge on the boards.

Mount St. Mary's closes out its four-game road trip on Saturday, February 7, with a 3:30 p.m. matchup at Central Connecticut.