Emmitsburg, Md. (December 6, 2022)--Mount St. Mary's rallied from a 12-point second half deficit to even the score, but American was able to make the plays down the stretch to hold on for a 69-61 win at Knott Arena on Tuesday night.  Deandre Thomas scored a season-high 18 points to pace the Mountaineers while Malik Jefferson added 16 points and seven rebounds in the game.

American was clicking on all cylinders to start the game, racing out to a 22-7 lead at the mid-point of the opening half.  Matt Rogers was the catalyst early, scoring seven consecutive points to stake the Eagles (6-2) to a 9-2 advantage.  The Mountaineers were able to cut the deficit to four. when Frantisek Barton slammed home an alley-oop pass from Jalen Benjamin.  Barton was fouled on the play and converted the free throw to make it 11-7.  American then rattled off the next 11 points to take its biggest lead of the game at 22-7. 

Trailing 26-15 with 5:16 left in the opening frame, Xavier Lipscomb scored on a runner and Thomas converted a step-back jumper to slice the deficit to seven.  After Lipscomb hit 1-of-2 at the line, American's Lincoln Ball connected on a three-pointer to push the lead back to 29-20.  Thomas and Jedy Cordilia then connected on back-to-back hoops to trim American's advantage to 29-24, but the Eagles scored the final five points of the half for a 34-24 lead at the break.  American held the Mount to 33.3 percent shooting (9-of-27) in the first half while holding a 19-to-9 rebound edge.  The Eagles converted 13-of-24 (.524) from the field in the opening 20 minutes.

Thomas opened the second half with a three for the Mount, but American countered with a Jaxon Knotek putback and a Geoff Sprouse three to take a 39-27 advantage with 18:15 remaining.  American held a 10-point lead, 47-37, after another Sprouse three before the Mountaineers started to rally.

Mount St. Mary's (4-6) used a 12-2 spurt to even the score at 49-49 with six minutes left in the game.  Cordilia sandwiched a pair of buckets around a Jefferson lay-up as the Mount scored six in a row to make it 47-43.  Knotek countered with a jumper, but Barton hit a free-throw line jumper, Thomas added a basket, and Jefferson tied the game in the paint to complete the 12-2 run.

American's Johnny O'Neill ended the Mount run in emphatic fashion, dunking on a drive to the basket while being fouled on the play.  O'Neill hit the free throw to complete the three-point play.  After a Mount turnover, Matt Rogers had a breakaway slam to make it 54-49.  Jefferson hit a pair of free throws to pull  the Mount within five, 60-55, with 3:09 on the clock, but Rogers scored on a hook shot and O'Neil clinched the win with a three for a 66-55 lead.  The Eagles were able to close the game out from there.

Thomas hit 7-of-14 from the field and 3-of-4 from three-point range en route to his season-high 18 points.  The 6-5 graduate student is averaging 14.3 points and 5.0 assists over the past three games for the Mountaineers.  Jefferson went 7-of-11 from the floor and finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and a pair of assists in the game.  Cordilia contributed a career-high eight points with Lipscomb adding a season-high eight points as well.  The Mountaineers played the majority of the game without leading scorer Jalen Benjamin, who left after nine minutes due to a lower body injury.  Benjamin entered tonight's game averaging 19.0 points per game.

O'Neill tied Thomas for game-high scoring honors with 18 points while adding eight boards.  Rogers finished with 16 points and six boards with Sprouse also reaching double figures with 11.

Mount St. Mary's returns to action on Saturday, December 10, when Loyola visits Knott Arena for the 177th meeting in the Catholic Clash.  Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.