Hackensack, N.J. (January 27, 2022)—The trio of Jalen Benjamin, Mezie Offurum and Nana Opoku led Mount St. Mary's to its fourth consecutive win, 67-56, at Fairleigh Dickinson on Thursday night.  Benjamin led the way with 18 points, Offurum added 16 points and eight rebounds, and Opoku had 12 points and 11 boards for his fourth double-double of the season in the victory.

Defense has keyed the Mount's four-game win streak and tonight was no different.  The Mount (9-10, 5-4 NEC) held FDU 56 points on 33.9 percent shooting overall and 21.1 percent from three-point range.  Over the past four games, Mount opponents are averaging just 53.8 points per game, 36.3 percent shooting overall and 26.0 percent shooting from three-point range.

The Mount has held the opposition under 60 points in each of the four games during the win streak.  It is the first time the Mount has held four consecutive opponents under 60 since a five-game streak in 2010. 
Leading by 13 at the break, the Mount saw Fairleigh Dickinson (1-15, 2-7 NEC) trim the deficit to 37-31 five minutes into the second half after a pair of Anquan Hill free throws.  The Mountaineers responded with a 7-0 run to regain control.  Benjamin started the run with a pair of charity tosses, Deandre Thomas drained a corner three on a feed from Benjamin, and Offurum closed the run with a reverse dunk on a pass from Frantisek Barton.  The Mount led by double figures the rest of the way.

Benjamin finished the game 6-of-12 from the field and 6-of-9 from the line for his game-high 18 points.  The NEC's assist leader also had five assists in the game with no turnovers in 35 minutes of action.  Offurum had a tremendous all-around effort with 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists while connecting on 6-of-12 from the field.  The 6-8 senior is averaging 17.3 points over the past three contests.  Opoku tallied 12 points and 11 rebounds in the game, notching his third double-double over the past five games.

Barton tallied eight points for the Mount for the second consecutive game while Dakota Leffew snared a career-best eight rebounds in the contest.

Hill paced FDU with 15 points and 10 rebounds while the Mountaineers held FDU's leading scorer Brandon Rush to 10 points on 4-of-14 shooting in the game.

The Mount finished the game 26-of-55 (.473) from the field and 4-of-16 (.250) from three-point range.  FDU was 21-of-62 (.339) from the floor and 4-of-19 (.211) on three-point attempts.  Mount St. Mary's held a 40-to-38 edge on the boards and a 36-to-24 advantage in points in the paint.

Holding FDU to just four points over the first 13 minutes of the game, the Mount built a double-digit advantage at 15-5 on a Barton bucket in the paint.  The Knights put together a 5-0 run to slice the Mount lead in half, but the Mount countered by scoring seven of the next nine points to restore the 10-point lead.  After an FDU bucket, Opoku scored five points in a row ahead of a Leffew basket in transition to give the Mount its biggest lead of the first half at 31-16.  FDU's John Square, Jr., scored on a putback at the buzzer to make it 31-18 at the break.

The Mount held FDU to 26.7 percent shooting (8-of-30), including just 10.0 percent (1-of-10) from three-point range.  The Mount was 14-of-31 (.452) from the field in the half while holding a 24-to-17 advantage on the boards.  Opoku led the Mountaineers with 11 points, seven rebounds and a pair of assists in the half while Reaves added six points on a pair of three-pointers. 
 
The Mountaineers return home on Saturday, January 29, to host Saint Francis U to kick off a three-game homestand.  Tip-off on Saturday is set for 5:00 p.m.