Jersey City, N.J. (December 1, 2022)---Jalen Benjamin put on a show to lead Mount St. Mary's to a successful debut in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference with a 73-58 win at Saint Peter's on Thursday night. Benjamin scored in a variety of ways, finishing with 28 points in the win.
Malik Jefferson added his 1,000
th career point for the Mountaineers while
Deandre Thomas scored all 11 of his points in the second half.
The game was the Mount's first in the MAAC after a 33-year stint in the Northeast Conference. The Mount was announced as the MAAC's 11
th member on May 2
nd.
Benjamin hit 10-of-17 from the field, including a 5-for-6 effort from three-point range, en route to his 28-point performance. That is Benjamin's career high as a Mountaineer, and one point off his personal best of 29 points set while he was at UAB. Thomas finished with 11 points and five assists in the win while Frantisek Barton chipped in eight points and six rebounds off the bench. Jefferson closed the game with eight points and five boards. Isiah Dasher and Jaylen Murray each scored 13 points to lead Saint Peter's (4-3, 0-1 MAAC).
The Mount shot 55.6 percent from the field in the second half, including 7-of-10 (.700) from three-point range. For the game, the Mount shot 40.4 percent overall and 10-of-21 (.476) from beyond the arc. The Mount defense limited Saint Peter's to 39.7 percent shooting overall and 4-of-17 (.235) from three.
Leading by two points, the Mount (4-4, 1-0) went on a 10-0 run to take a 12-point lead midway through the second half. After a Frantisek Barton strong post move, Tinsley made a great hustle-play that led to a Benjamin traditional three-point play that pushed the Mount's lead to 43-36 with just over 12 minutes left. Benjamin then got a friendly roll on a triple from the left corner, and he completed a personal 8-0 run on a tough fade-away jumper to make it 48-36.
The Mount continued to roll, building the lead to 20 points when Benjamin banked in a three for a 68-48 advantage with 3:39 left. The Peacocks got back into the game by scoring the next eight points to trim the deficit to 12, but the Mount made the plays down the stretch to seal the win.
Jefferson, who entered the game needing just one point to become the 49
th player in school history to record 1,000 career points, reached the milestone mark in the first half. The 6-9 graduate forward hit the milestone mark when Saint Peter's was called for goaltending on his lay-up attempt with 6:15 left in the first half.
Benjamin got the Mount to an early start, scoring all eight of the Mount's points in a game-opening 8-2 run. The 5-10 guard hit a pair of three-pointers and added a turn-around jumper. After Saint Peter's scored the next five points,
Dakota Leffew connected on a triple from the left corner to put the Mount on top, 11-7. The Mount held a 17-13 lead after a Benjamin pull-up jumper and a pair of Barton free throws, but Saint Peter's went on a 7-0 run to take the lead at 20-17. Trailing by three,
George Tinsley scored four consecutive points on a bucket and two free throws to put the Mount back on top, 23-22. A Kam Young three-pointer with just over a minute left in the half gave the Peacocks a three-point lead, and Tinsley rounded out the scoring in the half by hitting 1-of-2 at the line to trim the deficit to 29-27 at the break.
It was a defensive opening half as the Mount shot 26.7 percent (8-of-30) from the field and 3-of-11 (.273) from beyond the arc. The Mountaineers held Saint Peter's to 12-of-32 (..375) from the floor in the half. The Peacocks held a 25-to-18 edge on the boards in the half.
Mount St. Mary's is back in action on Saturday, December 3
rd, when Rider visits Knott Arena for the Mount's first home MAAC game. Tip-off is set for 4:00 p.m.
Game Notes: Tonight was the first meeting between the Mount and Saint Peter's in 45 seasons….With the win, the Mount now holds a 3-2 lead in the series
