Emmitsburg, Md. (February 23, 2024)--Mount St. Mary's turned in a gritty effort, but came up short in a 70-65 loss to Saint Peter's at Knott Arena on Friday night. Freshman
De'Shayne Montgomery had 21 points, six rebounds and four assists to pace the Mountaineers in the game. The Mount falls to 11-16 overall and 7-9 in the MAAC this season.
Trailing 45-42 midway through the second half, Mount St. Mary's freshman
Patrick Haigh drained a three-pointer to even the score. Haigh then connected on a corner three with 8:48 remaining to put the Mount ahead, 50-47. Montgomery then hit 1-of-2 at the line to make it 51-47 before the Peacocks responded with the next four to even the score.
Mount St. Mary's answered with a 6-0 run to grab a 57-51 advantage with just over five minutes left in the game.
Dola Adebayo started the run with a dunk on a feed from
Jedy Cordilia, and Montgomery and
Ronald Jessamy each hit a pair of free throws to give the Mount a six-point lead. Saint Peter's responded with the next eight points to regain the lead. A Mouhamed Sow putback dunk tied the score, and Corey Washington added a putback basket for a 59-57 lead with 2:08 on the clock. The Mount's Cordilia came through with a free throw line jumper to tie the game at 59-59 with 1:45 on the clock.
Saint Peter's (14-11, 10-6 MAAC) regained the lead on a Latrell Reid pull up jumper, and after a Mount turnover, Washington drained a contested three-pointer with 47.2 seconds left for a 64-59 lead. The Mount had a chance to cut into the deficit when Montgomery hit the first of two free throws with 25 seconds left to make it 66-62. He missed the second, but the Mount grabbed the rebound, but
Joshua Reaves was off the mark on a three-point attempt, and the Peacocks hit 4-of-4 from the foul line to seal the victory.
Montgomery finished the game 7-of-13 from the field and 7-of-9 from the line for his 21-point effort, his second consecutive 20-point game and his fifth this season. Reaves added 14 points, three assists and a pair of steals for the Mount as well. Both Reaves and Montgomery each played 39:40 in the game as the Mountaineers were playing without leading scorer
Dakota Leffew and freshman
Dallas Hobbs, who each missed the game with a lower body injury. Both players are considered day-to-day. Adebayo added eight points while Cordilia, Jessamy and Haigh each had six in the loss. Washington led all scorers with 25 points while Reid finished with 16 points, six assists and four boards.
The Mount pulled out to a 20-13 lead in the first half before Saint Peter's went on an 11-0 run to take a 24-20 advantage, holding the Mount scoreless for nearly six minutes. Saint Peter's held a 27-22 lead before the Mount rattled off seven consecutive points to grab a 29-27 lead on a Raves lay-up. Saint Peter's sent the game to the locker room tied when Reid scored on a putback on the final possession.
Mount St. Mary's finished the game shooting 45.3 percent overall and 4-of-13 (.308) from three-point range. Saint Peter's shot 42.6 percent overall and were 6-of-16 (.375) from beyond the arc. The Peacocks held a 35-to-34 rebound advantage and forced 15 Mount turnovers in the game.
Mount St. Mary's is back in action on Sunday afternoon when Iona visits Knott Arena. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m.
