Emmitsburg, Md. (January 14, 2021)—Damian Chong Qui scored a game-high 19 points to lead Mount St. Mary's to a 77-57 win over defending Northeast Conference regular season champion Merrimack at Knott Arena on Thursday night.  Chong Qui paced a balanced scoring effort as four Mountaineers reached double figures in the victory.
 
Chong Qui finished the night an efficient 6-for-10 from the field, 2-of-3 from three-point range and 5-of-5 at the foul line for his 19 points.  Freshman Josh Reaves reached double figures for the first time in his collegiate career with 13 on a 5-of-10 shooting from the field that included making 3-of-5 from distance.  Fellow freshman Dakota Leffew hit 4-of-5 from the field with a pair of three-pointers for a 12-point effort while Nana Opoku just missed a double-double with 11 points, nine rebounds and four blocks in the win.
 
Malik Jefferson provided a boost in the paint with eight points and a team-high 11 rebounds despite being limited to 15 minutes of action due to foul trouble.  Mezie Offurum added four points, nine rebounds and five assists while Deandre Thomas scored seven points off the bench for the Mountaineers.
 
Mikey Watkins led Merrimack (1-2, 1-2 NEC) with 17 points with Jordan Minor adding 14 points and nine rebounds in the loss.
 
The Mount held Bryant to 35.7 percent (20-of-56) shooting in the game, including 4-of-18 (.222) from beyond the arc.  The Mount shot 47.5 percent (28-of-59) from the field while draining 9-of-21 (.429) from three-point range. 
 
Mount St. Mary's (3-5, 2-2 NEC) scored the first five points of the game on an Offurum bucket and a Reaves corner three-pointer.  The Warriors answered with a 6-0 run to take their lone lead of the game, 6-5, but Opoku scored on the other end to make it 7-6. 
The Mount held a 19-to-18 advantage before scoring nine consecutive points to take control.  Leffew started the run with a corner three and Chong Qui followed with an acrobatic and-one to push the lead to 25-18.  Jefferson added his own traditional three-point play to advance the lead to double-digits at 28-18 with 6:54 left in the opening frame.  Chong Qui's floater in the lane with 15 seconds left in the half made it 38-29 at the break.
 
Leading by nine in the second half, the Mount went on a 9-to-2 to take a 16-point advantage with 8:23 remaining in the game.  Opoku capped the surge with an emphatic dunk on a feed from a Chong Qui drive.  The Mountaineers cruised the rest of the way, taking its biggest lead of the game, 72-47, on a Jefferson free throw with 2:11 on the clock.
 
The teams are back in action tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. at Knott Arena for the second game of the two-game series.