Emmitsburg, Md. (December 11, 2021)--Mount St. Mary's was clipped by visiting American, 72-66, in overtime in a non-conference matchup at Knott Arena.  The Eagles held the Mount without a field goal in the extra session to secure the win.  Nana Opoku led four Mountaineers in double figures with 17 points.

The second half proved to be a nail-biter as there were 12 lead changes and eight ties with the biggest lead by either team was three points in the final 20 minutes of regulation.  Tied at 31-31 at the half, the Mountaineers went ahead, 36-33, on a Josh Reaves three-pointer early in the second half.  American (4-7) fought back and took a 41-40 lead on a Josh Alexander bucket in the paint.  The Mount answered with a Dakota Leffew bucket and a Malik Jefferson hook shot to regain the three-point lead.  After American scored the next four points to regain the lead again, Mezie Offurum scored four in a row, capped by a traditional three-point play for a 48-45 lead midway through the second half.

American's Elijah Stephens hit a three-pointer for a 50-48 advantage, the teams exchanged baskets for the next four minutes.  Opoku provided all of the Mount's offense during that stretch, scoring on a dunk on three consecutive possessions, and then converting a three-point play on a driving lay-up that gave the Mount a 57-56 advantage with 3:19 on the clock.  American's Stacy Beckton, Jr., hit a three-pointer ahead of a Jalen Benjamin pull-up jumper for the Mount that tied the score with just over a minute left.

American regained the lead on a Connor Nelson jumper at 61-59.  Benjamin then missed on a three-point attempt, but Offurum snared the rebound and converted the putback to tie the game with 30 seconds on the clock.  Benjamin then drew a charge with 4.6 seconds left to get the ball back, but after a timeout, Offurum's jumper from the left baseline was off the mark at the buzzer, sending the game to overtime.

Offurum hit a pair of free throws to give the Mount a 63-61 lead in the overtime period, but the Eagles were able to hold the Mount without a field goal in the extra session to pulll away for the victory.  American held an 11-to-5 scoring advantage in overtime with the Mount finishing 0-for-9 from the field and 5-for-6 at the line in OT.

Opoku led the Mount with 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting while adding six rebounds.  Opoku is averaging 19.0 points over the past two games, hitting 18-of-20 (90.0 percent) from the field.  Offurum finished with 13 points and nine rebounds while Benjamin chipped in 12 points and four assists.  Reaves was the fourth Mountaineer in double figures with 10 points.  Jefferson also had a nice game for the Mount with eight points, six boards and three blocks.

Beckton, Jr., led American with 18 points and six rebounds despite a 5-for-18 shooting line.  Nelson had 15 points and Matt Rogers 14 points and nine boards in the win.  The Eagles shot 46.7 percent in the game and were 5-of-12 (.417) from three-point range.  The Mount shot 39.7 percent and was 3-for-14 (.214) from beyond the arc.

It looked like it would be the Mount's day in the early going, building a 10-point lead over the first 11 minutes of the game.  American fought back with a 12-0 run to take the lead, and from there neither team led by more than two points the rest of the half.  A Johnny O'Neil putback with nine seconds on the clock tied the score at 31-31 at the break.

The Mount has a week off for finals before hosting Morgan State on Saturday, December 18, at 4:00 p.m. at Knott Arena.