Emmitsburg, Md. (February 19, 2023)—Dakota Leffew scored 22 points while Jalen Benjamin added 10 points and a career-high 12 assists to lead Mount St. Mary's to an exciting 75-74 win over visiting Canisius on Sunday afternoon at Knott Arena.   The win moves the Mountaineers to 10-18 overall and 6-11 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference standings.

In a second half that featured 11 lead changes and seven ties, the Mountaineers were able to make the plays down the stretch to secure the victory.  Trailing 55-53, Jedy Cordilia converted a traditional three-point play to put the Mountaineers ahead by one with 10:03 remaining in the game. The offenses for both teams stalled over the next four minutes before Leffew scored on a reverse lay-up on a feed from Benjamin for a 58-55 advantage with 5:37 remaining.

The Golden Griffins (7-19, 5-12 MAAC) fought back, scoring the next four points for a 60-59 advantage after a Jacco Fritz driving lay-up with just under five minutes remaining.  Mount St. Mary's regained the lead with a 6-0 run that started with a pair of Benjamin free throws.  After Xavier Lipscomb hit 1-of-2 at the line, George Tinsley added a traditional three-point play with 3:27 on the clock for a 64-59 lead.
Canisius was able to cut the deficit to 66-63 on a Fritz basket with 2:01 left, but Leffew countered with a three-pointer with 1:34 remaining to put the Mount up by six.  Canisius countered with a Jordan Henderson three, but Benjamin answered with a drive to the paint for a 71-66 lead.  Henderson countered with another three to make it a two-point game, but with Canisius pressing, Benjamin found a wide-open Cordilia for a dunk for a 73-69 lead with 20.8 second on the clock.

After Fritz missed a jumper, Deandre Thomas was fouled, and he hit 1-of-2 to make it 74-69.  Fritz converted a lay-up, but Thomas was fouled again, and he hit 1-of-2 with 6.2 seconds left for a 75-71 lead.  Henderson hit a three in the final second, but the Mount was able to inbound the ball to earn the victory.

Leffew was 8-for-13 from the field an 6-of-10 from three-point range for his 22-point game.  The six three-pointers made are a career high, and it is Leffew's fifth 20-point game of the season.  Benjamin's 10 points and 12 assists gave him his first career double-double.  Cordilia added 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting in the win while Tinsley chipped in 11 points and four rebounds for the Mount.
Henderson led all scorers with 28 points, hitting 11-of-18 from the field and 5-of-8 from three-point range.  Tahj Staveskie added 17 points and six assists with Fritz finishing with 12 points and five assists for the Golden Griffins in the loss.

Mount St. Mary's finished the game 28-of-59 (.475) from the field and 11-of-28 (.393) from three-point range.  The Mount held a 33-to-27 edge on the boards.  Canisius shot 29-of-55 (.527) from the floor and was 9-of-19 (.474) from beyond the three-point arc.

The first half featured runs by each team with Canisius holding a 33-29 lead at the break.  Canisius pulled out to a 15-10 lead.  The Mountaineers countered with a 9-0 run to take the lead.  The run consisted of three-pointers from Leffew, Dola Adebayo and Deandre Thomas.  Canisius countered the Mount's surge with a 14-to-2 spurt to grab a 33-26 lead.  Staveskie had nine points during the run that was capped by a Fritz turn-around jumper with 40 seconds left in the half.  Leffew was able to give the Mount a lift heading into the locker room by draining a three-pointer to close the half.

Mount St. Mary's plays its final home game of the season on Friday, February 24, at 7:00 p.m. against MAAC leader Iona.  It will be Senior Night as the Mount will honors its senior class prior to the contest.