Box Score Richmond, Va. (December 5, 2020)--Mount St. Mary's lost at VCU, 60-42, in a non-conference matchup at the Siegel Center on Saturday afternoon.  Freshman Dakota Leffew paced the Mountaineers with a career-best 14 points in the loss.

Playing without leading scorer Jalen Gibbs, who was out with an injury, the Mount scored nine consecutive points to take a 10-6 lead six minutes into the game.  Leffew keyed the surge with a pair of three-pointers while Nana Opoku added a hook shot on a putback to give the Mount a four-point lead.  After VCU's Jimmy Clark III scored, Opoku added another jumper to put the Mount on top, 12-8, with 11:12 left in the opening half.  VCU (3-2) responded with a 23-to-2 run to take control of the game.  VCU opened the run by scoring 17 unanswered points, capping that stretch with a Corey Douglas traditional three-point play to make it 25-12.  After a Malik Jefferson basket, consecutive three-pointers by VCU's Nah'shon Hyland extended the Mount's deficit to 31-14.  VCU maintained the margin to lead 37-20 at the half.

The Mount scored the seven of the first nine points of the second half to trim the deficit to 39-to-27.  Mezie Offurum had a three-pointer and a nice drive to the bucket in that stretch.  VCU, however, went on a 12-to-2 run to push its lead to 51-to-29 with 11:10 remaining.  From there, the Rams were able to cruise to the win.

Leffew hit 5-of-7 from the field and was 3-of-5 from three-point range en route to his 14-point day.   Opoku added seven points and six rebounds while Offurum and Damian Chong Qui each had six points in the game.  Hyland led VCU with 14 points as the Rams shot 41.4 percent in the game and 7-of-18 (.389) from beyond the arc.  The Mount struggled on the offensive end in the game, shooting 36.4 percent from the field and hitting 4-of-14 (.286) from three-point range.  The Mount also had a season-high 23 turnovers in the game, leading to 26 VCU points. 

Mount St. Mary's (1-3) is back in action Tuesday, December 8, when Saint Francis U visits Knott Arena for the Northeast Conference opener for both teams.  Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. and fans can watch the game on NEC Front Row.  Due to state and local health guidelines, no spectators will be permitted.