Emmitsburg, Md. (December 7, 2019)--Mount St. Mary's lost to longtime rival Loyola, 64-48, in the 175th edition of the Catholic Clash on Saturday afternoon at Knott Arena.  Damian Chong Qui paced the Mountaineers with 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists while Malik Jefferson chipped in 14 points and seven boards in the game.

Loyola (6-4) closed the first half with a 16-to-4 run to take a 32-21 lead at the half.  Jefferson scored in the paint to put the Mount ahead, 17-16, with 5:38 left in the half before Loyola's Andrew Kostecka connected for a three-pointer and a bucket in the paint to give Loyola a 21-16 advantage.  After a Vado Morse free throw for the Mount, Cam Spencer hit a three-pointer and Kostecka added a fast-break basket to stretch the advantage to 26-18.  Loyola's Isaiah Hart closed the half with a layup to make it 32-21 at the half.

The Mount shot just 28.6 percent in the opening half and was 1-for-9 from three-point range.  Loyola connected on 50.0 percent from the field in the opening 20 mintues while shooting 4-of-8 (.500) from beyond the three-point arc.

Mount St. Mary's (3-7) scored the first two baskets in the second half on a Chong Qui reverse lay-up and a Jefferson post basket to make it a five-point game, but the Greyhounds responded to stretch the lead back to 11 at 38-27.  A Kavaughn Scott dunk gave Loyola aa 49-36 lead with 7:39 on the clock before the Mount made a rally.  Chong Qui hit a pair of free throws, Morse scored in transition, and Chong Qui added a lay-up for a 6-0 run to make it a seven-point game with 5:20 remaining. The Greyhounds, however, answered with the next seven points, capped by a Spencer basket, for a 56-42 lead with 3:14 left.  From there, Loyola was able to secure the win.

Chong Qui finished the game with 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists for the Mountaineers while Jefferson was 7-for-11 from the field for his 14 points while chipping in seven boards.  Morse added seven points while Nana Opoku tallied seven rebounds and three blocks in the contest.  Kostecka led all scorers with 25 points while Spencer recorded 15 points and a game-high six assists for Loyola.

The Mount is back in action on Tuesday, December 17, with a 7:00 p.m. home game against American.

Game Notes:  The Mount holds a 100-75 lead in the all-time series with Loyola in the most played rivalry in the state of Maryland...The Mount was 2-for-17 (.118) from three-point range in the game...Chong Qui is averaging 16.4 points over the past five games.