New Britain, Conn. (February 26, 2022)--Jalen Benjamin had 19 points and eight assists while Nana Opoku recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds to lead Mount St. Mary's to a 65-46 road win over Central Connecticut in the final game of the regular season on Saturday afternoon at Detrick Gymnasium.  The win ended the Mount's three-game losing streak and gives the team a 13-15 overall record and a 9-9 mark in Northeast Conference play heading into this week's NEC Tournament.

The Mountaineers took control of the game right from the tip, jumping out to an 8-2 lead in the opening two minutes buoyed by back-to-back Benjamin three-pointers.  After a CCSU three-pointer, the Mount rattled of the next eight points to stretch the advantage to 16-5.  Benjamin's third three-pointer made it 11-5, Opoku followed with a bucket, and Mezie Offurum's three-point play pushed the Mount out to an 11-point advantage just seven minutes into the game.

The Mount, the top defensive team in Northeast Conference play, made it difficult for the Blue Devils to score, holding CCSU to just 11 points over the first 15 minutes of the game.  Jaylin Gibson hit 1-of-2 at the line to give the Mount it's biggest lead of the half, 29-11, with 4:46 remaining.  Benjamin drilled his fourth three-pointer of the half for a 34-16 lead before CCSU's Nigel Scantlebury scored to make it 34-18 at the break.  The Mount held CCSU to 24.0 percent (6-of-25) shooting in the opening half while converting 46.4 percent (13-of-28) on the offensive end.  Benjamin paced the Mount with 12 points and six assists in the opening frame.

Benjamin continued his hot shooting by opening the second half with his fifth three-point field goal of the game for a 37-18 lead.  CCSU was able to trim the deficit to 47-34 midway through the second half, but a Josh Reaves three-pointer and a Barton lay-up stopped the run, pushing the advantage back to 18 points.  The Mount led comfortably the rest of the way to seal the victory.

Benjamin finished the game with 19 points and eight assists, hitting 5-of-10 from three-point range in the win.  Opoku added 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting while collecting 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season and 11th of his career.  Opoku and Benjamin continue to close in on 1,000 career points with each reaching 990 career points after today's game.  Opoku has 990 points in 113 career games with the Mountaineers while Benjamin has a combined 990 points in 87 career games at UAB and the Mount. 

Offurum had a solid performance in the victory with 12 points and seven rebounds while Reaves hit three three-pointers in the second half to finish with nine points in the game.  Freshman Jedy Cordilia made his first collegiate start for the Mount, tallying a pair of rebounds in nine minutes of action.  Scantlebury led CCSU (7-23, 5-13 NEC) with 18 points.

The Mount finished the game 23-of-49 (.469) from the field and 9-of-20 (.450) from three-point range.  CCSU finished 13-of-47 (.277) from the field and 7-of-24 (.292) from three-point range.  The Mount held a narrow 32-31 edge on the boards.

The Mount heads to the NEC Tournament as the No. 4 seed and will face No. 5 seed St. Francis Brooklyn on Wednesday, March 2, at 7:00 p.m. at Knott Arena.  This will be the Mount's first home NEC Tournament game since 2018.  This will be the sixth time the Mount has been the No. 4 seed in the NEC Tournament with the Mountaineers posting an impressive 8-2 record as the No. 4 seed, winning the title in 2008, 2014 and 2021.  The Mount is 5-0 all-time against St. Francis Brooklyn in NEC Tournament games.

Tickets to the general public for the NEC Quarterfinal game will go on sale on Monday at 10:00 a.m.  Fans can call the ticket office at 301-447-5700 to purchase tickets.