Emmitsburg, Md. (November 11, 2023)--Four players scored in double figures to lead a balanced effort as Mount St. Mary's defeated Coppin State, 74-60, in the home opener at Knott Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Dakota Leffew led the way with 14 points while
Joshua Reaves added 12,
George Tinsley 11 and
Xavier Lipscomb 10 in the victory.
The Mount got off to a quick start behind a barrage of three-pointers in the opening minutes. Coppin State's Justin Winston hit a three-point to give the Eagles their only lead of the game, 3-2, a minute into the contest. The Mount answered by draining four consecutive three-point baskets to sprint out to a 14-to-3 advantage. Lipscomb started the run on a feed from Tinsley, Reaves and Leffew followed with triples of their own, and a Tinsley trifecta on a pass from Lipscomb capped the run for a 14-to-3 lead just four minutes into the game.
The Mount continued to stay hot from the field in the opening half with freshman
Ronald Jessamy scoring seven consecutive points to give the Mount a 27-14 advantage. Leading 37-25, Tinsley scored in the pain and Reaves connected on a three-pointer to cap the half to give the Mount a 42-25 advantage.
The Mount maintained the double-digit advantage in the second half, taking a 20-point lead on Lipscomb's second three of the game, 60-40, with 8:56 remaining. Leffew added a three to give the Mount it's biggest lead of the game, 63-42, with just under eight minutes on the clock.
Coppin State (0-3) used a late 14-to-2 run to trim the Mount's lead to seven points (67-60) with 2:50 remaining, but the Eagles run ran out of steam as the Mount held Coppin State off the scoreboard the rest of the way to earn the 74-60 victory.
Dakota Leffew finished with 14 points, four rebounds and four assists to lead the Mount offense, finishing 3-of-6 from three-point range. Reaves scored 12 points for the Mountaineers, his second consecutive game in double figures. Tinsley added 11 points, eight rebounds and four assists while Lipscomb stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists, going 4-of-6 from the field and 2-of-4 from beyond the arc. Jessamy added seven points and six boards,
Dola Adebayo six points and five boards, and
De'Shayne Montgomery six points and two steals in the win as well. Coppin State was led by Malik Battle's 16 points (10-of-10 FT's) while Greg Spurlock added 14 points and five boards.
The Mount finished the game shooting 47.2 percent (25-of-53) while connecting of 8-of-24 (.333) from three-point range and 16-of-18 (.889) at the foul line. The Mount also held Coppin State to 33.9 percent (20-of-59) shooting and 4-of-19 (.190) from beyond the arc.
QUICK HITTERS:
- The Mount's victory was its fifth consecutive win in the home opener, and the Mountaineers are now 88-27 all-time in home-opening games.
- The Mount is now 8-1 all-time against Coppin State, including a perfect 6-0 at home.
- Freshman Ronald Jessamy now has 14 points and 12 rebounds in 14 minutes of playing time this season.
- Mount St. Mary's is 15-9 all-time against Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opponents
UP NEXT: Mount St. Mary's travels to Washington, D.C., to face Georgetown on Saturday, November 18. Tip-off at Capital One Arena is set for 12:00 p.m.
