Emmitsburg, Md. (January 5, 2024)--George Tinsley scored a season-high 18 points as Mount St. Mary's earned a 74-69 win over Canisius at Knott Arena on Friday night. The Mountaineers improve to 6-8 overall and 2-1 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference with the victory.
It was a balanced effort for the Mountaineers as all eight players who played scored at least five points in the win. Tinsley connected on 7-of-10 from the field and was 4-for-5 from three-point range for his 18-point night. He added seven rebounds, including five on the offensive glass. Tinsley entered the game 2-for-17 from three-point on the season.
Dakota Leffew added 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists while
Dallas Hobbs chipped in 11 points and five assists in the victory.
Dola Adebayo and
De'Shayne Montgomery each scored eight,
Jedy Cordilia and
Ronald Jessamy had six and
Joshua Reaves five in the win for the Mountaineers.
Tre Dinkins led four Canisius players in double figures with 18 points, but the Mount defense held him to 6-of-18 from the field and 2-of-10 from three-point range in the game. Frank Mitchell had a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds for Canisius with Siem Uijtendaal (12) and TJ Gadsden (11) also reached double figures.
Trailing 17-to-14 eight minutes into the game, the Mountaineers rattled off the next 13 points to take a double-digit lead. Montgomery started the run with a driving lay-up, and an Adebayo basket put the Mount on top, 18-17. Three consecutive three-pointers by Hobbs, Tinsley and Reaves closed the run for a 27-17 advantage. A Tinsley putback with 6:42 left in the half gave the Mount a 31-20 lead. The Golden Griffins (6-7, 1-2 MAAC) used an 11-to-2 run late in the half to cut the Mount lead to 35-34, but Leffew closed the half with a turnaround jumper for a 37-34 Mount lead.
Canisius was able to even the score at 55-55 on a Cam Palesse three-pointer, but the Mount responded by scoring the next six points. Hobbs scored on a drive to put the Mount back on top, and he then fed Cordilia for a basket for a 59-55 lead midway through the half. Tinsley then sandwiched a basket and a three-pointer around a Mitchell basket for Canisius to make it 64-57. A Jessamy dunk gave the Mount its biggest lead of the second half at 66-57 with 7:23 left in the half. Canisius battled back, trimming the Mount advantage to 70-69 with 3:08 on the clock. Neither team scored over the next two minutes until Leffew found Cordilia under the basket for a lay-up with 1:06 left for a 72-69 lead. Canisius missed a pair of shots on the next possession, but got the ball back after a blocked shot with 19.1 seconds remaining. Mitchell's three-point attempt to tie the score was off the mark, and Leffew grabbed the board and sealed the win with a pair of free throws.
The Mount shot 50.8 percent from the floor in the victory while going 8-for-25 (.320) from three-point range. Canisius was held to 38.2 percent from the field and was just 6-of-23 (.261) from beyond the three-point arc.
UP NEXT: Mount St. Mary's returns to action on Sunday, January 7, at MAAC leader Saint Peter's. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m.
