Emmitsburg, Md. (February 23, 2020)--Nana Opoku scored a career-high 25 points to lead Mount St. Mary's Past Northeast Conference leader Merrimack, 65-57, at Knott Arena on Sunday afternoon.  Opoku finished with 25 points and 14 rebounds for his third double-double of the season as the Mount improves to 11-18 overall and 7-9 in the NEC.

The Mount started quickly, scoring on its first three possessions to take a 6-0 lead.  Opoku scored in the paint on the first two possessions, and then fed Malik Jefferson for a dunk to force a Merrimack (19-11, 13-4 NEC) timeout two minutes into the game.  Opoku then hit 1-of-2 at the line to give the Mount a seven-point lead before the Warriors responded with a 10-0 run to take a 10-7 advantage.  The Mountaineers were 0-for-9 from the field during the scoreless stretch that lasted nearly six minutes.

Jefferson scored consecutive buckets and Opoku a shot in the paint to give the Mount a 13-10 lead, but Merrimack answered back with five consecutive points to regain the lead.  The Mountaineers used a 13-to-4 scoring run to grab a 26-19 advantage with 2:12 left in the first half.  Opoku keyed the surge, scoring 10 points in the run that he capped with a dunk on a feed from Jalen Gibbs.  The Mountaineers headed to the locker room with a 28-23 lead.

Merrimack opened the second half with an 8-2 run with Idris Joyner and Devin Jensen connecting on back-to-back three-pointers to give the Warriors a 31-30 advantage.  Jefferson scored in the paint to give the Mount the lead back, and Damian Chong Qui added a traditional three-point play to make it 35-31.  After a Mikey Watkins three-pointer, the Mount scored nine unanswered points to stretch the lead to double digits.  Vado Morse and Chong Qui scored on a lay-up and a pull-up jumper with Jalen Gibbs draining a three-pointer to make it an eight-point lead.  Brandon Leftwich then added a pair of free throws to make it 44-34.  Another Malik Jefferson dunk pushed the advantage to 50-38, and the Mount led 59-46 after a pair of Chong Qui free throws with 2:35 remaining.  From there, the Mount was able to cruise to the win.

Opoku finished 11-of-19 from the field to finish with 25 points, 14 rebounds while adding three assists and three blocks.  Opoku, who had 10 points and a career-best 15 rebounds in the first meeting between the two teams, averaged 17.5 points and 12.5 rebounds in the two games against the Warriors this season.  Jefferson had 12 points and six rebounds while Chong Qui contributed nine points, a career-high nine rebounds and three assists in the win.  Morse added nine points and three assists while Leftwich finished with six points off the bench.  Juvaris Hayes led Merrimack with 19 points, six assists and four steals.

The Mount shot 44.2 percent in the game and was 2-of-12 (.167) from three-point range.  Merrimack shot 38.8 percent overall and was 8-for-22 (.364) from beyond the arc.  The Mountaineers had a commanding 40-24 edge on the boards and an 11-0 advantage in second-chance points.

The Mountaineers are back in action on Thursday, February 27, with a 7:00 p.m. matchup at Saint Francis U.