Emmitsburg, Md. (January 25, 2020)--Mount St. Mary's stretched its winning streak to four with a thrilling 79-76 victory over Bryant before a raucous sellout crowd on 3,121 on Winter Homecoming at Knott Arena on Saturday.  Vado Morse paced the Mount with 20 points while Jalen Gibbs chipped in 15 in the victory.  Leading by one in the final minute, the Mount made a pair of defensive stops to secure the victory.

Trailing 64-58 with 6:47 remaining after an Adam Grant free throw, the Mountaineers responded with an 8-to-2 run to even the score at 66-66 with 5:00 left in the game.  Damian Chong Qui scored the first five points of the run with a three-pointer and a nifty drive to the basket.  Morse capped the run with a three-pointer to even the score.  Grant was fouled on a three-point attempt on Bryant's next possession, and he hit 2-of-3 at the stripe to give the Bulldogs (10-10, 2-5 NEC) the lead.  Morse countered at the other end, converting a traditional three-point play on a shot in the lane for a 69-68 Mount lead.  After a Bryant turnover, Nana Opoku scored on a tip-in with 3:49 left and Gibbs in the paint on a feed from Chong Qui on a baseline out of bounds play for a 73-68 lead with 3:10 on the clock.

Bryant did not go away, pulling within one point, 74-73, when Michael Green III converted 1-of-2 at the foul line.  The Mount's Malik Jefferson was fouled on a lay-up attempt, but he missed both free throws with 56 seconds left, giving Bryant a chance at the lead.  The Mount defense stood tall with Opoku rejecting a pair of shots on Bryant's possession that ended with a shot clock violation.  Bryant then fouled Morse, who hit 1-of-2 to make it 75-73 with 19 seconds left.  Chong Qui came up with a big steal for the Mount, and Gibbs connected on a pair of free throws for a 77-73 lead.  Green III hit a three-point with 2.7 seconds on the clock to make it a one-point game, and the Bulldogs fouled Morse on the inbounds.  Morse calmly sank both free throws to make it 79-76, and Malik Jefferson stole Bryant's desperation inbounds pass to secure the victory.

Trailing 46-40 early in the second half, the Mount (9-11, 5-2 NEC) scored 13 unanswered points to take its biggest lead of the game, 53-46.  Chong Qui and Gibbs connected on consecutive field goals ahead of a Morse three-pointer that put the Mountaineers on top, 47-46.  Opoku ignited the crowd by finishing a Chong Qui lob for an alley-oop dunk with 15:31 on the clock.  Opoku was fouled on the play, and then hit the free throw to convert the three-point play.  Gibbs capped the run with a triple with 14:55 left for a seven-point Mount lead.  Bryant responded to the Mount run with an 18-to-5 streak to take the 64-58 lead to set up the exciting finish.

The Mount withstood Bryant's three-point barrage in the first half to stay within striking distance.  The Bulldogs hit 7-of-8 from three-point range in jumping out to a 30-22 lead.  Juan Cardenas scored 13 of Bryant's first 18 points before Grant caught fire hitting a pair of three-pointers to give the Bulldogs the eight-point lead.  The Mount responded to even the score at 32-32 on an Opoku three-point play, but Bryant was able to stretch the lead back to six, 40-34, on a Grant three-pointer.  The Mount fought back to even the score at 40-40 on a Malik Jefferson bucket, but Cardenas drained a three-pointer at the buzzer to give Bryant a 43-40 lead at the half.

Morse led the Mount with 20 points, his second 20-point effort this season.  The sophomore guard has scored in double figures in three straight, and is averaging 19.5 points over the past two games.  Gibbs chipped in 15 points and five boards, hitting 5-of-7 from the field and 2-of-4 from three-point range in the game.  Omar Habwe added 13 points off the bench in his first game back after missing the previous four games due to an injury.  Chong Qui added 12 points while dishing out six assists in the victory.  Opoku added seven points, 10 rebounds and four blocks for the Mount as well.  Grant led Bryant with 26 points, hitting 5-of-8 from three-point range, while Cardenas added 20 points. 

The Mountaineers shot a season-best 52.9 percent from the floor (27-of-51) while hitting 8-of-18 (.444) from three-point range.  Bryant shot 53.8 percent and was 13-of-24 (.542) from three-point range in the loss.  Bryant committed 15 turnovers in the game while the Mount had just six miscues.

The Mount heads on the road for the next four games, beginning at Sacred Heart with a 12:00 p.m. tip-off on Thursday, January 30.