Emmitsburg, Md. (November 29, 2025)--Mount St. Mary's was resilient in a 79-75 win over Howard at Knott Arena on Saturday afternoon, holding off several Howard rallies to secure the victory.  Justin Amadi led the way with 21 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double as a Mountaineer.  Luke McEldon added 14 points and nine rebounds in the win as well.  The victory moves the Mount's record to 2-6 on the season.

Mount St. Mary's used a 13-2 run to take a 73-62 advantage with just over eight minutes left in the game.  Keyes opened the run with a pair of free throws and a three-pointer to give the Mount a five-point advantage.  McEldon scored in the lane to make it 67-60 before an Alex Cotton basket momentarily halted the run.  Amadi closed the run with six consecutive points on four free throws and a dunk on a feed from Lipscomb.

The Bison fought back with the next nine points to trim the Mount's advantage to 73-71 with 4:43 on the clock.  Amadi scored on a putback with 4:27 remaining for a 75-71 Mount lead, but Danas Kazakevicius countered for Howard (4-5) to make it a two-point game with 3:41 left.  The Mount's So hit a pair of free throws for a 77-73 lead, but Travelle Bryson answered again for Howard to make it 77-75 with 2:11 left.  

Howard had four chances to tie the game or take the lead in the final two minutes, but the Mount defense held strong, forcing three misses, and then a turnover with 35 seconds left.  On the ensuing possession, Lipscomb drove to the basket and converted at the rim with nine seconds left for the decisive basket.

Amadi finished the game 7-of-12 from the field and 7-of-9 at the foul line en route to his game-high 21 points.  He added a season-high 10 rebounds to post his first double-double as a Mountaineer.  McEldon just missed a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds while Keyes added 10 points and four boards in the victory.  Lipscomb had a solid floor game with nine points and six assists, So added nine points and Anastasios Rozakeas eight points and four rebounds for the Mount as well.  Bryce Harris led Howard with 15 points, but was held to just 4-of-16 shooting from the field.  Cam Gillus, Cotton and Kazakevicius each scored 13 in the loss for Howard.

Mount St. Mary's finished the game 29-of-56 (.518) from the field and 8-of-18 (.444) from beyond the arc.  The Mount also hit 13-of-16 (.813) at the foul line in the win.  Howard shot just 38.2 percent (26-of-68) overall and was 8-of-29 (.286) from beyond the arc.

Amadi scored the first four points of the game to kickstart a 15-to-4 Mountaineer run in the opening six minutes.  Trailing 22-9, the Bison turned up the defensive pressure in a 10-0 run that cut the Mount's lead to three just past the midpoint of the opening half.  Mount St. Mary's responded, building the lead to 13 after an Arlandus Keyes three-pointer with just under five minutes left in the half.  The Mount hit 16 of its first 22  shots (72.7 percent) overall and six of eight from three-point range to take the 41-28 lead.  Howard, however, closed the half on a 15-to-4 run to cut the deficit to 45-43 at the half.

GAME NOTES

• The Mount now holds a 7-3 lead in the all-time series with Howard.  This is the second consecutive season the Mount has defeated the Bison by the score of 79-75.
• Justin Amadi is the 11th Mountaineer since 2014 to record a 20-10 double-double.  Amadi finished with 21 points and 10 boards in the victory.  The last Mount player to record a 20-10 double-double was Dola Adebayo in an 85-79 win over Siena on March 2, 2025.
• Luke McEldon had 14 points and a season-high nine rebounds in the win.  McEldon is averaging 16.5 points and 8.5 rebounds over the past two games, hitting 15-of-23 (.652) from the field.
• Howard led for just six seconds in the game, taking a 49-47 lead with 17:38 left.  The Mount's Amadi scored just six seconds later 

UP NEXT:  Mount St. Mary's hosts Sacred Heart to open Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play on Wednesday, December 3.  Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. at Knott Arena with tickets available HERE.