Emmitsburg, Md. (February 12, 2021)—Mount St. Mary's used a strong defensive effort to stop visiting LIU, 64-46, at Knott Arena on Friday afternoon to sweep the two-game series.  The Mountaineers have won three straight to improve to 8-7 overall and 7-4 in the Northeast Conference.
 
LIU used an 8-0 run to take a 39-38 advantage with 13:53 remaining in the second half.  From there, the Mount defense stood tall, holding the Sharks without a field goal over the next 12:09 to surge to the victory.  In all, it was a 24-to-4 run over that 12-minute stretch that made the game a runaway.  LIU missed 14 consecutive shots during the decisive run, scoring all four points over that stretch on free throws.
 
For the Mount, Malik Jefferson's hook shot with 12:42 left put his team back on top, 39-38, to kick-start the decisive run.  A Josh Reaves three-pointer from deep in the left corner made it a four-point game, and Nana Opoku scored on a feed from Damian Chong Qui to make it 44-38 with 8:14 remaining.
 
Mezie Offurum then drilled a three-pointer from the left wing, and Chong Qui made a pull-up jumper to cap a run of 12 unanswered points to stretch the lead to 49-38 with 5:34 on the clock.  LIU's Alex Rivera converted a pair of free throws half the run, but Chong Qui and Opoku responded by each going 2-for-2 at the line for a 53-40 lead.  Offurm converted a bucket in the pain, and Deandre Thomas and Chong Qui connected on back-to-back triples for a commanding 61-40 lead with 2:11 left.
 
Chong Qui paced the Mountaineers with 16 points, hitting 5-of-10 from the field and 2-of-2 from beyond the arc.  The junior point guard, who leads the NEC in assists, dished out nine helpers while committing zero turnovers in the game.  Opoku added 15 points, nine rebounds and two blocks while Offurum chipped in 15 points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists in a solid all-around effort.  Reaves had eight points and a career-best seven rebounds for the Mount while Jefferson added six points and eight boards.
 
Jermaine Jackson, Jr., led the Sharks (7-7, 7-7 NEC) with 13 points with Ty Flowers also in double figures with 11.
 
The Mount held LIU to 33.3 percent shooting (18-of-54) in the game, including 2-of-18 (.222) from three-point range.  The Mount held LIU, which entered the two-game series averaging 76.5 points per game, to 53.0 points per game.  In addition, the Sharks shot just 32.8 percent (41-for-125) from the field and 21.4 percent (9-of-42) from three-point range over the two games.
 
Mount St. Mary's returns to action by hosting a two-game series with Wagner on Tuesday, February 16, at 7:00 p.m. and Wednesday, February 17, at 4:00 p.m.