Emmitsburg, Md. (January 19, 2024)--A strong defensive effort lifted Mount St. Mary's to a 65-48 win over Marist on Friday night at Knott Arena.
Dakota Leffew paced the Mount offense with 21 points and five assists. Defensively, the Mountaineers held Marist to 37.5 percent shooting while holding a commanding edge on the boards to improve to 7-10 overall and 3-3 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
Leffew scored 16 of his game-high 21 points in the opening half to help propel the Mount to a 29-21 lead at the break. The senior guard hit 5-of-10 from three-point range in the victory en route to his ninth 20-point effort this year while also dishing out a team-high five assists. Freshman
De'Shayne Montgomery added 11 points off the bench, hitting 3-of-4 from three-point range.
Jedy Cordilia added nine points and seven rebounds with
Joshua Reaves chipping in eight points and five boards for the Mount. Junior
Terrell Ard, Jr., collected a team-high eight rebounds with
Dola Adebayo finishing with five points, three rebounds, three blocks and a pair of steals in his first start this season. Noah Harris led Marist with 15 points off the bench.
The Mount held Marist to 18-of-48 (.375) shooting in the game, including 5-of-17 (.294) from three-point range. The Mount held a 39-to-25 edge on the boards, limiting the Red Foxes (8-7, 3-3 MAAC) to just two offensive rebounds in the game. The Mount shot 24-of-54 (.444) overall, but hit 11-of-25 (.440) from beyond the arc.
After Marist scored the opening basket, the Mount scored the next 10 points to take control of the game. Leffew started the run with a long three-pointer and a drive to the basket. Montgomery added his first three of the contests, and Frantisek Barton's basket capped the run giving the Mount a 10-to-2 lead with 12:33 left in the opening half. The Red Foxes were able to cut the deficit to 16-13, but the Mount countered with a 10-to-1 run to grab a 12-point lead. Montgomery started that run with a triple, Leffew and Cordilia added buckets, and Leffew closed the spurt with another three-point basket. The Mount went to the locker room with a 29-21 lead.
It was still an eight-point margin (39-31) seven minutes into the second half before the Mount broke the game open with a 14-to-4 scoring run to stretch the lead to 53-35, with just under seven minutes remaining. Montgomery scored five points to key the run with Adebayo's driving lay-up giving the Mount its 18-point advantage. Marist countered with the next eight points, but the Mount' sealed the win on the next possession.
George Tinsley was scored on a turnaround jumper in the paint and was fouled on the play. Tinsley missed the free throw, but hustled to get the offensive rebound, saving the ball from going out of bounds and feeding Reaves, who nailed a three-pointer for a 58-43 lead with 4:38 left. The Mount continued to surge, taking its biggest lead of the game, 63-43, on a Leffew lay-up with just over a minute left.
The Mountaineers improved to 6-1 at home this season with the victory. The Mount holds a 14-to-7 lead in the all-time series with Marist, including a 10-2 mark at Knott Arena.
Up next, the Mount hosts Niagara on Sunday, January 21, at 2:00 p.m. at Knott Arena.
