Santa Clara, Calif. (December 7, 2021)—Nana Opoku and Mezie Offurum combined for 39 points, but it was not quite enough as Mount St. Mary's fell to Santa Clara, 88-77, on Tuesday night at Santa Clara's Leavey Center.  Opoku scored a season-high 21 points in the game while Offurum matched his season high with 18 in the game.

Trailing 80-65, the Mount's Dakota Leffew scored five consecutive points to cut the deficit to 10 points with just under five minutes remaining.  After Santa Clara pushed its lead back to 14 at 84-70 with 2:50 on the clock, the Mount scored the next seven points to trim Santa Clara's lead to seven.  Opoku started the run with an alley-oop dunk on a feed from Jalen Benjamin.  He then added a tip-in bucket ahead of a Leffew three-pointer that made it 84-77.  The Mount had a chance to slice into the deficit again, but Offurum's jumper was off the mark, and Santa Clara countered with a pair of free throws for an 86-77 lead.  The Mount missed a three-pointer and two more Santa Clara free throws sealed the win.

Opoku hit 10-of-11 from the field en route to his season-high 21 points while adding nine rebounds and a pair of blocks in the game.  Offurum scored 16 of his 18 points in the opening half, finishing 8-of-14 from the field while collecting six boards.  Sophomore Dakota Leffew chipped in 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists off the bench while Benjamin had eight points and a season-high eight assists.

Santa Clara was led by Jalen Williams who finished with 22 points, seven rebounds and six assists.  Keyshawn Justice added 17 points and 10 rebounds while Parker Braun had 16 points in the win.

Santa Clara shot 58 percent (32-of-55) in the game and was 6-of-17 (35 percent) from three-point range.  The Mountaineers shot 44 percent (34-of-77) from the field while connecting on 8-of-23 (35 percent) from three. 
Turnovers had been an issue for the Mountaineers heading into tonight's game, but the Mount took care of the basketball against the Broncos, committing just three turnovers in the game.  The three turnovers are tied for fewest by a Mount team in a game since moving to NCAA Division I in 1988-89.  The last time the Mount had three turnovers was against St. Francis Brooklyn on March 2, 2016.  The other two times came against Central Connecticut (Feb. 7, 2015) and VMI (Dec. 29, 1989).

Trailing 46-43 at the half, the Mountaineers evened the score at 50-50 early in the second half on an Opoku three-point play.  Santa Clara bounced back, scoring the next eight points, to stretch its lead to 58-50.  Giordan Williams keyed the run with a dunk, a pair of free throws and a driving shot in the lane.  After Offurum stopped the run with a basket, Santa Clara made it 20-to-4 run for its biggest lead of the game at 70-54 with just over 11 minutes left.

The Mount had a quick start to the game with Offurum draining a three-pointer to open the scoring.  After the Broncos hit a triple to tie it, Jefferson had a dunk in the lane and Offurum scored in the paint for an early 7-3 advantage.  Santa Clara responded with a 10-to-4 spurt to regain the lead, but Offurum's second three-pointer of the game put the Mount back on top, 14-13.  Leffew added to the lead with a three-pointer, but Santa Clara fought back with the next six points to go back ahead.

Santa Clara extended its lead to eight at 38-30 on a Justice basket with just over four minutes left in the opening half.  The Mount cut the deficit in half with a 6-2 run with Offurum collecting four of those markers.  Jaylin Gibson connected on a corner three to make it a one-point game before Santa Clara was able to take a 46-43 lead at the break.

Offurum led all scorers with 16 points in the opening half, hitting 7-of-10 from the field and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc.  Opoku chipped in 10 points and five rebounds for the Mountaineers in the half as well.  Braun led three Broncos in double figures in scoring in the first half with 12 points.  Santa Clara shot 61 percent (17-of-28) from the field in the half, including 4-of-7 (57 percent) from three-point range.  The Mount shot 49 percent in the half (19-of-39) while committing just one first half turnover.

Up next, the Mountaineers kick-off a five-game homestand by hosting American University at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 11, at Knott Arena.