EMMITSBURG, Md. (January 30, 2021) – Despite a season-high 19 points from Nana Opoku, the Mount St. Mary's men's basketball team lost for the first time this season at Knott Arena, 61-58, to visiting Sacred Heart in the opening game of a two-game series.  The Mountaineers are now 5-7 overall and 4-4 in Northeast Conference play with the two teams meeting again tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. at Knott Arena.
 
Mezie Offurum scored on a hook shot on the first possession of the game to give the Mount what would be their only lead of the contest.  Mike Sixsmith scored nine points in the opening seven minutes to help propel Sacred Heart (6-5, 6-4 NEC) to an early four-point advantage.  A Quest Harris bucket with 5:43 left in the opening half stretched the Sacred Heart lead to nine points.  The Mountaineers countered with a 7-0 run to get back in the game.  Naim Miller started the spurt with a three-pointer, and Damain Chong Qui followed with a pull-up jumper to make it 26-22.  Frantisek Barton's putback basket with 3:13 left in the half pulled the Mountaineers within two at 26-24.  The Pioneers were able to withstand the run and held a 30-25 lead at the break.
 
In the second half, Aaron Clarke scored seven consecutive points for Sacred Heart to give his team its biggest lead of the game, 45-35, with 9:54 remaining.  The Mountaineers climbed back into the game again, reeling off the next 10 points to even the score.  Opoku opened the run with a dunk on a feed from Offurum, and he then converted a putback on an offensive rebound.  Freshman Josh Reaves closed the run with back-to-back three-pointers, the second from deep in the left corner that tied the score, 45-45, with 6:36 on the clock.
 
Sacred Heart answered with the next five points on a Tyler Thomas traditional three-point play and a Bryce Johnson basket in transition.  The Mount continued to fight back, closing within one point four times down the stretch.  Thomas made a big play with a minute remaining, grabbing an offensive board and scoring to give Sacred Heart a 57-53 lead.  On the ensuing possession, Chong Qui drained a step-back three-pointer with 42 seconds left to make it a 57-56 game.  Clarke was fouled with 15 seconds left, and he hit both free throws to put Sacred Heart back on top by three.  Chong Qui had a chance to tie the score, but his three-pointer with six seconds left was off the mark.  Opoku was able to tip-in the miss to make it 59-58, but Clarke sealed the win with two free throws with 1.6 seconds left.  Chong Qui's desperation heave from halfcourt at the buzzer was long, and Sacred Heart was able to secure the win.
 
Opoku finished the game with a season-high 19 points to go along with 10 rebounds and six blocks for his fifth career double-double.  Opoku's six blocked shots give him 126 for his career, moving him into a tie for sixth with Sam Atupem (2005-09) on the Mount's all-time list.  Chong Qui finished with nine points, eight rebounds and six assists while Offurum chipped in eight points and six boards in the game.  Malik Jefferson pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds, the fourth time this season and 16^th in his career he has reached double figures on the boards.  It was the Mount's first loss at Knott Arena this season after posting double-digit wins in each of their first three home games.
 
Clarke led Sacred Heart with 16 points while Johnson added 12 points and eight rebounds.  The Mount held Thomas, who entered the game leading the NEC in scoring at 20.1 points per game, to seven points on 3-of-13 shooting.
 
Mount St. Mary's was 25-of-74 (.338) from the field in the game, including 5-of-23 (.217) from three-point range.  The Mount corralled 24 offensive rebounds in the game, and had 22 more field goal attempts than Sacred Heart in the contest.  The Mountaineers did not turn the ball over in the second half and had just six miscues in the game.  Sacred Heart was 21-of-52 (.404) from the field and 5-of-19 (.263) from beyond the arc.  The Pioneers were 14-of-15 (.933) at the foul line in the win, including 11-for-11 in the second half.  The Mountaineers were 3-of-4 (.750) at the line, and did not attempt a free throw in the second half.
 
The second game of the back-to-back series will be tomorrow with a 2:00 p.m. tip-off at Knott Arena.