College Park, Md. (November 28, 2020)—Mount St. Mary's staged a late rally, but came up short in a 73-67 loss to Navy at the University of Maryland's XFINITY Center on Saturday afternoon.  Damian Chong Qui paced the Mount with 18 points while Jalen Gibbs chipped in 16 in the loss.

Trailing 64-51 with 2:44 remaining, the Mountaineers went on a 16-to-4 run to cut the deficit to a single point, 68-67, with 22 seconds left.  Gibbs started the run with a three-pointer, and a Chong Qui bucket made it an eight-point game.  After a pair of Cam Davis free throws, Chong Qui added another basket, and a Gibbs three-pointer cut Navy's lead to 66-61 with 57 seconds left.

Greg Summers connected on a pair of free throws for Navy, but Mount freshman Dakota Leffew nailed his third three-pointer of the game to cut the deficit to 68-64 with 34 seconds on the clock.  The Mount forced a steal on the next possession, and Chong Qui drained a long three from the top of the key to make it 68-67 with 22 seconds left.

Davis hit two more free throws to give Navy a three-point lead, and the Mount had a chance to tie on its possession, but Chong Qui was off the mark on a three-pointer with 12 seconds on the clock.  Davis sealed the win by hitting two more free throws as Navy held on for the 73-67 victory.

Chong Qui led the Mount with 18 points while adding four rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals.  Gibbs chipped in 16 points and five rebounds, hitting 4-of-9 from three-point range.  Leffew was 4-for-4 from the field while connecting on all three of his three-point attempts for 12 points while Nana Opoku added 10 points and eight rebounds in the game.

Davis led all scorers in the game with 26 points, including a 10-for-10 effort at the foul line.  John Carter, Jr., was the only other Navy player in double figures with 10 points.

The Mount shot 44.6 percent (25-of-56) in the game while hitting 11-of-27 (.407) from three-point range.  Navy converted 47.2 percent (25-of-53) from the field while going 4-of-15 (.267) from beyond the arc.  Navy was 19-of-22 (.864) at the foul line while the Mount was 6-of-10 (.600).

A slow start to the second half by the Mount proved to be the difference in the game.  The Midshipmen outscored the Mountaineers, 15-to-2, over the first seven minutes of the half to take a control of the game.  The Mount went just 1-for-8 from the field with four turnovers over that stretch, allowing Navy to build its lead.  Navy held a 53-37 advantage before the Mount made a comeback bid.

Opoku's traditional three-point play sparked eight consecutive Mount points to cut Navy's lead in half.  Offurum added a three-pointer from the top of the key and Chong Qui converted a right-hand scoop on a drive to make it 53-45.  After a Navy free throw, Jalen Jefferson scored on a putback and a long Leffew three-pointer made it 54-50 with 6:32 on the clock.

Navy regained control on a Richard Njoku tip-in, a Davis drive and a pair of Davis free throws to push the lead back to double digits at 60-50.  Navy extened the lead to 64-51 with 2:33 left before the Mount staged its late comeback bid.

In a nip-and-tuck first half, Navy went to the locker room with a 32-31 advantage.  The half featured 13 lead changes and seven ties with the biggest lead either way being four points.
After the Mount's Mezie Offurum opened the scoring in the game with a putback bucket, Navy scored the next six points to grab an early 6-2 advantage.  The Mount answered by scoring the next seven points on an Opoku three-pointer, a Chong Qui bucket and a pair of Gibbs free throws.

A Gibbs three-pointer gave the Mount a 23-21 advantage, but Navy countered with a Carter, Jr., three-pointer and a Tyler Nelson fast-break dunk off a steal.  Leffew nailed a three-pointer to even the score at 26-26, and after a Navy basket, Gibbs hit a three and Leffew scored on a drive to the basket for a 31-28 Mount lead.  Navy scored the final four points of the half to take the one-point lead at the break.

The Mount shot 36 percent (11-of-27) from the field in the opening half while hitting 5-of-14 (.385) from three-point range.  Navy shot 48 percent (12-of-25) in the first half and was 3-of-7 (.429) from beyond the arc.  The Mount had eight turnovers in the opening frame while holding a 17-to-12 advantage on the boards.

Gibbs had a team-high 10 points in the half to lead the Mount while Chong Qui chipped in seven.  Daniel Deaver led Navy with seven first-half points.

The Mount has a quick turnaround, playing at Maryland tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. with the game airing live on the Big Ten Network.  Due to health and safety protocols, there will be no fans in attendance at the game.