Emmitsburg, Md. (December 10, 2022)—Mount St. Mary's used a strong defensive performance to earn a 51-34 victory over rival Loyola in the 177^th edition of the Catholic Clash at Knott Arena on Saturday night.  Xavier Lipscomb and Jedy Cordilia each scored 12 points to pace the Mount in the victory, which was the 101^st all-time against the Greyhounds in a series that started in 1910.

The 34 points allowed are the second-fewest by a Mountaineer team since moving to NCAA Division I in 1988-89 with the record being 33 in an 80-33 victory over Widener on Jan. 21, 1988, the Mount's first season at the Division I level.  In addition, it was the fewest points scored by Loyola in the all-time series since the Mount's 37-26 victory over the Greyhounds on March 2, 1940.

The Mount's win snapped a three-game losing streak to Loyola in the Catholic Clash, and gives the Mount a 101-76 lead in the all-time series.  The Mountaineers improved to 61-17 all-time at home against the Greyhounds.

Cordilia and Malik Jefferson combined to score 10 of the Mount's first 11 points in helping stake the team to an early 11-6 advantage.  However, points were hard to come by for either team in the half with the Mount holding a 13-10 lead with 5:49 remaining.

 The Mount held Loyola scoreless the remainder of the half while scoring 11 points to grab a 24-10 advantage at the break.  George Tinsley opened the run with a bucket, Jefferson hit 1-of-2 at the line, and Tinsley added another basket on a putback to make it 18-10.  Lipscomb scored in the paint, Jefferson added another free throw, and Lipscomb closed the run with a three-pointer with 53 seconds left in the half for the 24-10 advantage.

The Mount matched its fewest points allowed in a half in the school's D1 era by holding Loyola to the 10 first-half points. The Mount held a 31-10 halftime advantage over Columbia in a 69-42 win over Columbia on December 9, 1997. 
Loyola was 5-of-27 (.185) shooting from the field in the opening half while missing all 10 three-point attempts.  The Mount shot 31.0 percent (9-of-29) while hitting just 1-of-5 (.200) from beyond the arc.

The Greyhounds opened the second half with a 9-to-4 run to cut the deficit to single digits at 28-19 with 14:48 remaining.  A 6-0 run buoyed by two Lipscomb free throws, a Cordilia basket in the paint, and a Jaylin Gibson pulled up jumper pushed the Mount's lead back to 15.  After Loyola's Chris Kuzemka hit two free throws to make it 34-21 with 11:16 left in the game, the Mount sealed the game with a 15-to-2 run over the next eight minutes to take a commanding 49-23 lead with 2:24 left in the game.

Lipscomb scored a season-high 12 points for the Mountaineers in his first start of the season.  The Mount was playing without its starting backcourt of Jalen Benjamin and Dakota Leffew, who each missed the game due to injury.  Lipscomb added five rebounds, two rebounds and a pair of steals while hitting 4-of-6 from the field in the win.  Cordilia recorded a career-high 12 points while adding six rebounds for the Mount while Jefferson finished with eight points and 12 rebounds.  Gibson chipped in nine points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals off the bench as well.  Kuzemka and Deon Perry each scored nine points for Loyola. 

The Mount finished the game 18-of-48 (.375) from the field and 4-of-11 (.364) from three-point range in the game while holding Loyola to 12-of-46 (.261) from the field and 2-of-19 (.105) from beyond the arc.  The Mount held a 43-27 edge on the boards, outscoring the Greyhounds, 22-2, on second chance points.

Up next, the Mountaineers will host Robert Morris on Sunday, December 18, at 2:00 p.m. at Knott Arena.