Niagara University, N.Y. (January 2, 2023)—Mount St. Mary's used a 16-0 run that spanned the end of the first half and beginning of the second to fuel a 64-60 win over Canisius at Niagara University's Gallagher Center on Monday afternoon.  Jalen Benjamin led the Mount with 19 points while George Tinsley added a season-high 16 in the victory.

The Mount (6-9, 2-2 MAAC) withstood a furious late Canisius rally to secure the victory.  Dakota Leffew connected on a three-pointer with 10:04 remaining in the game to give the Mount a 54-36 advantage.  Canisius used a 13-to-2 run, capped by a Jordan Henderson three-pointer, to cut the Mount's lead to 56-49 with just under five minutes left.  Tinsley nailed his second three-pointer of the game to push the Mount's lead back to 10 at 59-49, but Canisius continued to surge, scoring eight unanswered points to make it 59-58 with 49 seconds on the clock.

On the ensuing possession, the Mount's Xavier Lipscomb drilled a three-pointer as the shot clock was about to expire to give the Mount a four-point advantage with 21.3 seconds left.  Canisius cut the deficit to 62-60 when Jacco Fritz scored on a putback with 6.3 seconds left, but the Mount's Benjamin sealed the win with a pair of free throws with 3.2 seconds on the clock.

Benjamin finished with a game-high 19 points (6-of-12 FG's) while adding six assists and five rebounds.  Tinsley went 7-for-13 from the field and 2-of-4 from three-point range en route to his season-high 16-point effort.  Tinsley added five boards, three assists and three steals in the victory.  Leffew chipped in 13 points for the Mount, connecting on 3-of-8 from beyond the arc.

Jamir Moultie led Canisius with 11 points while Henderson, Fritz and T.J. Gadsden had nine points each in the loss.

Leading 10-8 at the first media timeout, Benjamin fueled an 11-to-2 run to give the Mountaineers their first double-digit lead in the game at 21-10.  A Benjamin three-pointer started the run, and he then tossed an alley-oop to Dakota Leffew for a dunk.  Benjamin hit a pair of free throws, Frantisek Barton scored in the paint, and Benjamin closed the run on a drive to the basket for the 11-point lead.

Trailing 23-12, Canisius got back into the game with a 7-0 spurt that made it a four-point game.  Jaylin Gibson stopped the Golden Griffin run with a three from the left corner.  Leading 29-26, the Mount closed the half with the final seven points for a 36-26 lead. Tinsley hit a three-pointer to start the run, Benjamin hit a jumper, and Tinsley scored in the paint for the 10-point halftime lead.

The Mountaineers opened the second half with the first nine points to build its biggest lead of the game at 45-26.  Tinsley and Lipscomb each scored a bucket with Benjamin capping the run with five straight points to push the advantage to 19 with 17:30 left in the game.

Mount St. Mary's finished the game 24-of-54 (.444) from the field and 9-of-22 (.409) from three-point range.  The Mount held Canisius to 24-of-63 (.381) shooting overall and 6-of-24 (.250) from beyond the three-point arc. 

The Mountaineers return to the court on Sunday, January 8, with a 2:00 p.m. MAAC matchup at Marist.