Fairfield, Conn. (January 21, 2016)—Freshman guard Elijah Long (Mississauga, Ont.) scored a career-high 20 points, but Mount St. Mary's was edged by Sacred Heart, 76-71, on Thursday night.  The back-and-forth game featured 30 lead changes.

Long gave the Mount (8-12, 5-2 NEC) a 66-64 lead with a three-pointer with 2:51 remaining, but Sacred Heart's Tevin Falzon answered with a three-pointer on the other end to give the Pioneers (4-14, 3-4 NEC) the lead.

Cane Broome was fouled on a three-point shot, and hit all three charity tosses to make it a four-point game, but Junior Robinson (Mebane, N.C.) drilled a three-pointer for the Mount to cut the gap to 70-69.  After each team made a pair of free throws, the Mount got a stop on the defensive end to get the ball back trailing 72-71.

On the ensuing possession, BK Ashe (Washington, D.C.) was off the mark with a three-pointer with 7.2 seconds remaining, and Sacred Heart was able to seal the game at the free throw line.

Long finished the day 8-of-13 from the field and 3-of-3 from three-point range en route to his career-best 20 points.  Robinson and Taylor Danaher (Fredericksburg, Va.) added 14 points each while Ashe finished with 12 points and seven rebounds.

Broome led all scorers with 24 points with Falzon chipping in 15 points in the win.

In a nip-and-tuck first half that featured 12 lead changes and five ties, Sacred Heart went to the locker room with a 37-34 advantage.  Baskets from Ashe and Graves gave the Mountaineers a 19-16 lead midway through the half.   The Pioneers responded to take a 26-25 lead, but an Ashe three-point play put the Mountaineers ahead 28-26.

Sacred Heart answered with a 9-2 run to take its biggest lead of the half, 37-32, before Danaher hit a pair of free throws to close the half to make it 37-34.

The Mount concludes its four-game road trip on Saturday, January 23, at Fairleigh Dickinson.  Tip-off is set for 4:30 p.m.

Game Notes:  The Mount is 21-10 all-time against Sacred Heart, but had won the past five matchups at the Pitt Center…Mount St. Mary's defeated Sacred Heart at the Pitt Center in the 2008 NEC Championship game.