MOUNT ST. MARY'S (5-10, 1-1 NEC) at MERRIMACK (7-8, 1-1 NEC)
Thursday, January 9, 2020 | 7:00 pm
Hammel Court | North Andover, Mass.

GAME NOTES | LIVE STATS
WATCH:  NEC Front Row

NEWS AND NOTES

• Mount St. Mary's defeated Long Island, 82-73, in double overtime this past Saturday to move to 1-1 in the Northeast Conference this season.  Damian Chong Qui poured in a career-best 26 points while Malik Jefferson added a career-high 23 points to lead the Mount to the victory.  The duo combined to score 14 of the Mount's 17 points in the overtime periods.  The Mount held Long Island to 4-of-29 shooting from three-point range.  The Mount outscored the Sharks, 11-2, in the second overtime and held LIU to 1-of-13 (.077) shooting in the overtime periods.
• Damian Chong Qui continued his breakout season with his career-high 26 points in the double-overtime win against Long Island.  Chong Qui leads the Mountaineers in scoring (11.9), assists (3.5), steals (1.3) and free throw percentage (.815) this season.  The 5-8 point guard has scored in double figures eight times this year, and has topped the 20-point plateau on a pair of occasions.
• Malik Jefferson had a career-high 23 points in the Mount's win over Long Island while adding nine rebounds in the game.  Jefferson hit 7-of-11 from the foul line against the Sharks after entering the game just 2-of-12 at the charity stripe on the year.  Jefferson is averaging 9.7 points and a team-high 7.9 rebounds per game, shooting 54.4 percent from the field.
• The Mount's matchup against Merrimack with feature two of the top defensive units in the Northeast Conference.  The Mount is second in the NEC in defensive efficiency (102.4), second in scoring defense (66.8) and third in field goal percentage defense (.423).  Merrimack is third in the NEC in defensive efficiency (102.6), first in scoring defense (62.5) and first in turnovers forced per game (16.9).
• Mount St. Mary's is 1-0 all-time against Merrimack.  The lone meeting in the series came was an 82-78 victory on Jan. 11, 1986, in the South Atlantic Doubleheader Tournament held at Randolph-Macon.
• The Mount's win over Long Island was its first double-overtime victory since an 81-80 win in double overtime at Sacred Heart on Jan. 28, 2011.  It was the first double overtime game since an 82-79 loss to Bryant on Jan. 9, 2016.
• Up next, the Mount heads to Bryant for a 4:00 p.m. matchup on Saturday, January 11.  The Mount returns home to face Central Connecticut on Saturday, January 18.