New York, N.Y. (December 1, 2023)—Mount St. Mary's rallied from a 22-point first-half deficit, but dropped a heartbreaker at Manhattan, 75-74, in overtime in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference opener on Friday night at Draddy Gymnasium. Manhattan's Rokas Jocys hit a three-pointer from the left corner with five seconds left for the winning basket.
Trailing by two in overtime,
Dola Adebayo drilled a jumper from the left corner to even the score with 1:21 remaining, and after a defensive stop,
Dakota Leffew put the Mount ahead with a tough bucket in the lane for a 74-72 lead with 32 seconds on the clock.
Manhattan called timeout with 25.0 seconds remaining, and was forced to use another timeout with seven seconds on the clock before the winning play. The Jaspers got the ball to Jocys, who hit a tough three from the corner to put his team on top, 75-74. The Mount inbounded the ball and got it to
Joshua Reaves, who had a long three-point attempt from the right wing bounce off the rim at the buzzer.
Leffew led the Mount with 21 points while adding three assists and three steals with freshman
De'Shayne Montgomery adding 15 points and five steals. Montgomery has recorded five steals in back-to-back games for the Mountaineers.
Jedy Cordilia had 13 points and 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season while Adebayo chipped in nine points and eight rebounds in the game.
Daniel Rouzan led Manhattan with 17 points while Saquil Bender (13), Perry Cowan (12), Jocys (11) and Xinyi Li (10) also reached double figures.
The Mount (1-5, 0-1 MAAC) trailed by 15 points five minutes into the second half, but rallied to get back into the game. A 16-to-2 run sliced the deficit to one with eight minutes on the clock. The Mount had a nine-point run to end the streak, capped by a Leffew dunk on the break and a
Dallas Hobbs drive.
The Jaspers rebounded to push the lead back to five on a Bender jumper with 5:40 remaining, but the Mount fought back again, making it a two-point deficit on a Cordilia basket with 2:49 left. Cordilia hit a pair of free throws to tie the score, and Leffew put the Mount ahead, 66-64, with 1:30 left in regulation. Rouzan converted a traditional three-point play with 1:02 remaining to put Manhattan back ahead, and the Jaspers led 69-66 when Leffew went to the line with 36 seconds left. Leffew hit the first, but missed the second to make it a two-point game. Adebayo came up with the offensive rebound and hit the shot in the lane to even the score. Manhattan's Bender missed on the final possession, forcing overtime.
The Mount started the game quickly with Leffew dunking home the game's first points on a backdoor cut. After a Hobbs lay-up made it 4-0, Manhattan took control of the game with a 30-to-5 run for a 21-point lead with seven and a half minutes left in the opening half. Xinyi Li keyed the run, connecting on 10 points, including a pair of three-pointers. Manhattan held its biggest lead of the game, 33-11, with 6:58 left in the half.
Trailing 38-to-18, the Mountaineers got back into the game with a 7-0 run that was capped by a Reaves three-pointer and a Leffew pull-up jumper. The Jaspers pushed the lead back to 16, but Montgomery's lay-up cut the Mount's deficit to 43-29 at the half.
Manhattan shot 53.1 percent (17-of-32) from the field in the opening half, connecting on 7-of-13 (.538) from beyond the three-point arc. The Mount shot 46.4 percent (13-of-28), but were just 2-of-9 (.222) from three-point range. The Mount had 10 first-half turnovers, but held a 17-to-14 rebound edge in the half. Li and Cowan each scored 10 points to pace the Jaspers in the opening 20 minutes while Leffew led the Mount with eight.
UP NEXT: The Mountaineers welcome Siena to Knott Arena on Sunday, December 3rd, for the MAAC Home Opener. Get your tickets
HERE. The Mount will be wearing their Reverse Retro uniforms for the first time on Sunday.
