Fairfield, Conn. (March 4, 2020)—Sixth-seeded Mount St. Mary's fell at third-seeded Sacred Heart, 61-59, in the Northeast Conference Quarterfinals at the Pitt Center on Wednesday night.  Sacred Heart's Jare'l Spellman scored on a putback with 1.6 seconds left to lift the Pioneers to the win.  Damian Chong Qui led the Mount with 18 points and seven assists.

Chong Qui tied the score with a pair of free throws with 19 seconds remaining.  Sacred Heart's Aaron Clarke drove to the basket on the ensuing possession, but his shot was off the mark.  Spellman was able to collect the rebound and put in the lay-up with 1.6 seconds on the clock to give Sacred Heart (20-12) the lead.

The Mount (11-21) inbounded the ball to Nana Opoku, who found Vado Morse for a desperation three-point attempt from 35 feet.  Morse's shot was off the mark, and the Pioneers escaped to move on to the NEC Semifinals.

The Mount led 54-49 after a Chong Qui lay-up with seven minutes remaining before Sacred Heart rallied to even the score at 54-54 on a Clarke lay-up with 4:34 left.  Morse then hit a pair of free throws to give the Mount a two-point lead, and Brandon Leftwich hit 1-of-2 at the line with 3:24 left for a 57-54 lead.

Sacred Heart took the lead on a pair of E.J. Anosike free throws and a Clarke lay-up with 2:02 left.  Trailing 57-59, Gibbs was off the mark on a three-point attempt with a minute left, but the Mount came up with the defensive stop to get the ball back. Chong Qui was fouled and he hit both free throws to tie the score at 59-59.

Chong Qui finished with 18 points and seven assists while Opoku added 11 points and three blocks in the game.  Malik Jefferson and Morse finished with eight points each while Jalen Gibbs had seven.  The Mount shot 46.5 percent in the game and was 9-for-19 (.474) from there-point range. 

Anosike led Sacred Heart with 16 points and 15 rebounds while Koreem Ozier added 15 points in the win.  Clarke tallied 13 points and Kinnon LaRose 10 for Sacred Heart in the win.  Spellman's only points were the game-winning basket while he added 11 rebounds.  Sacred Heart held a 47-to-23 edge on the boards, including 24 on the offensive end.  The Pioneers outscored the Mount, 19-0, on second chance points in the game.

Sacred Heart started the game off quickly, scoring the first seven points to take the lead.  The Mount answered when Gibbs and Habwe drained back-to-back three-pointers to make it a one-point game.  After an Ozier three-pointer, the Mount went on a 12-4 run to take an 18-14 lead.  Chong Qui was the catalyst during that run, scoring the final nine points.

The Pioneers fought back, taking a 24-20 lead on a pair of Clarke free throws, but the Mount scored the next six to regain the lead on a Jefferson dunk.  Jefferson scored the next four points for the Mount as well for a 30-27 advantage, and the Mount headed to the locker room with a 33-28 lead.

The Mount shot a sizzling 63.2 percent (12-of-19) from the field in the first half, hitting 4-of-6 (.667) from three-point range.  Sacred Heart was held to 31.3 percent shooting (10-of-32) and 3-of-9 (.333) from three-point range.  The Pioneers were able to stay within range with 11 first-half offensive rebounds while the Mount also went just 5-of-11 (.455) from the charity stripe.

NOTES:  The Mount is now 3-1 all-time against Sacred Heart in the NEC Tournament, including a win in the 2008 NEC Championship game…The Mountaineers are now 14-8 all-time in the NEC Quarterfinals.