Emmitsburg, Md. (February 25, 2024)—De'Shayne Montgomery poured in 25 points while
Terrell Ard, Jr., added his first double-double of the season to pace Mount St .Mary's to a 72-65 win over Iona at Knott Arena on Sunday afternoon. The Mount improves to 12-16 overall and 8-9 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference with the victory.
Montgomery, forced into point guard duties with the Mount's top two point guard (
Dakota Leffew and
Dallas Hobbs) out with lower body injuries, finished with 25 points, five assists and four rebounds in the victory. Montgomery is averaging 23.7 points, 4.3 assists and 4.0 rebounds over the past three games, topping the 20-point plateau in all three contests.
Ard, Jr., added 13 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and two steals off the bench to spark the Mountaineers. He recorded season highs in all four categories, and recorded his first double-double as a Mountaineer. The transfer from Presbyterian reached 10+ rebounds for the fifth time in his collegiate career, notching his second career double-double.
Joshua Reaves added 12 points and a season-high seven rebounds while
George Tinsley recorded 10 points and five rebounds in the victory. For Tinsley, the 10 points give him 987 for his collegiate career, just 13 shy of the 1,000-point mark. Tinsley is in his second season at the Mount after transferring from Binghamton.
Idan Tretout led Iona with 21 points while Joel Brown added 15 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals. Jeremiah Quigley also reached double figures in the loss with 12 points.
The Mount's defense played a key role in the victory today, holding Iona to 36.5 percent shooting in the game, including 9-of-31 (.290) from three-point range. The Mount held a commanding 41-to-27 edge on the boards.
Leading 30-25 at the half, Montgomery and Reaves started the second half with back-to-back buckets to put the Mount on top by nine. The Gaels (13-14, 8-8 MAAC) called timeout, and responded with an 11-to-2 run to even the score at 36-36.
Tinsley snapped the tie with a three-pointer to spark a 7-0 run that was capped by a
Ronald Jessamy dunk. The Mount was able to push the advantage to 10 points on three occasions, leading 60-50 with 5:01 remaining after a pair of Montgomery free throws.
Iona fought back, using a 13-to-4 run to trim the Mount's advantage to 64-63 after a Brown lay-up with 1:17 left. On the ensuing possession, Montgomery drove the lane and converted a tough drive, getting fouled on the play. He sank the free throw for a traditional three-point play putting the Mount ahead, 67-63. Iona missed a pair of three-point attempts, and Reaves hit 1-of-2 at the line to make it 68-63. After another missed three from the Gaels, Montgomery and Reaves sealed the win by each hitting a pair of charity tosses.
The first half saw the Mount jump out to a 16-to-5 advantage in the opening seven minutes. Iona responded with the next 13 points to take the lead. The Gaels pulled ahead, 25-to-22, on a Quigley pull-up jumper, but the Mount scored the final eight points of the half to take the 30-25 advantage. Jessamy scored on a jumper and Montgomery then slammed home a breakaway on a steal and pass from Ard, Jr. Montgomery then hit a pair of free throws, and after the Mount forced a miss on in the closing seconds, Ard, Jr., found Tinsley streaking to the basket for a lay-up and the five-point halftime advantage.
Mount St. Mary's heads on the road this week with games at Canisius on Friday and Niagara on Sunday.
