MOUNT ST. MARY'S (4-5, 3-2 NEC) at CENTRAL CONNECTICUT (2-8, 2-5 NEC)
Thursday, January 21, 2021, 7 pm | Friday, January 22, 2021, 4 pm
Detrick Gymnasium, New Britain, Conn.
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Mount St. Mary's heads back on the road for a two-game series at Central Connecticut.  The teams will meet on Thursday, January 21, at 7:00 p.m. before matching up less than 24 hours later on Friday, January 22, at 4:00 p.m. 

Mount Update:  Mount St. Mary's swept Merrimack in a two-game series last week at Knott Arena.  It was the Mount's first home games in 37 days since a 75-57 win over Saint Francis U in the home opener on December 8.  Damian Chong Qui scored 19 points to lead the Mount to a 77-57 win over Merrimack in the opening game of the two-game set on Thursday night.  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.  Deandre Thomas scored a game-high 18 points while Mezie Offurum and Damian Chong Qui each tallied their first career double-double to lead Mount St. Mary's past Merrimack, 63-52, in the second game on Friday afternoon.  In his fourth game with the Mountaineers, Thomas, a junior transfer from Samford, hit 6-of-7 from the field and 5-of-6 from three-point range for his season-high 18-point effort.  Offurum finished with 14 points and a career-best 13 rebounds for his first collegiate double-double while Chong Qui tallied 10 points and a career-high 10 assists for his first career double-double as well.
 
Central Connecticut Update:  Central Connecticut lost at Sacred Heart, 65-48, last Thursday to drop to 2-8 overall and 2-5 in the Northeast Conference.  Sacred Heart pulled away in the second half for the win over Central Connecticut last week.  The Pioneers opened the second half with a 14-to-2 run to take a 15-point lead and cruise to the win.  Greg Outlaw was the only Blue Devil player in double figures with 11 points.  CCSU shot 17-of-61 (.279) overall and 5-of-23 (.217) from three-point range. Central was 9-of-13 (.692) from the free throw line.  Outlaw leads CCSU in scoring at 12.9 points per game while Tre Mitchell is averaging 11.0.  The Blue Devils average 70.6 points per game while allowing 81.1 on the year.
 
The All-Time Series:  The Mount posted a 79-52 win over the Blue Devils at home last year in the lone meeting between the teams to take a 23-22 lead in the all-time series.  The Mountaineers have won 11 of the past 14 matchups between the two teams.  The Mount has won three in a row and six of the past seven matchups in New Britain.
 
Chong Qui and Reaves Collect NEC Weekly Honors:  Damian Chong Qui and Josh Reaves collected Northeast Conference Weekly awards.  Chong Qui was named the NEC's Co-Player of the Week after averaging 14.5 points, 7.0 assists and 3.5 rebounds in the sweep of Merrimack.  Reaves was named the NEC Rookie of the Week after scoring in double figures in each of the Mount's wins over Merrimack, his first two collegiate double-figure scoring games.  He averaged 12.5 points while shooting 52.6 percent (10-of-19) overall and 50.0 percent (5-of-10) from three-point range in the two games.

Defense:  The Mount has excelled on the defensive end this year.  In NEC play, the Mount leads the league in scoring defense (60.6), field goal percentage defense (.388), defensive efficiency (90.9), effective field goal percentage defense (.433), defensive rebound percentage (80.9), block rate (13.5) and defensive two-point field goal percentage (.425).  Overall, the Mount is allowing 63.3 points and 42.4 percent shooting.
 
Up Next:  The Mount returns home for a busy week as there are a pair of two-game series scheduled at Knott Arena.  The Mount will host Wagner on January 26-27 before welcoming Sacred Heart on January 30-31.