Emmitsburg, Md. (January 24, 2026)--Mount St. Mary's wore down visiting Rider in a 71-61 victory on Homecoming at Knott Arena on Saturday afternoon.  Xavier Lipscomb led the Mount with a career-high 20 points while Abdou Khadre Kebe just missed a double-double with 12 points and a career-high nine rebounds in the win.  Mount St. Mary's improves to 9-13 overall and 5-6 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference with the victory.

Tied 33-33 at the half, the Mount took it's first lead of the game when Kebe hit 1-of-2 at the line on the opening possession of the second half.  After Rider's Flash Burton converted a traditional three-point play, Arlandus Keyes drained a three-pointer to put the Mount ahead, 37-36.  That would be the last lead change of the game as the Mount led the rest of the way.  Leading 42-40, Lipscomb hit a three-pointer and Yahkya Diop added a pair of free throws for a 47-40 lead.  Rider responded, cutting the Mount advantage to 48-47 on a Caleb Smith lay-up, but Trey Deveaux countered with a triple for a 51-47 Mount lead. 

Lipscomb converted a pair of traditional three-point plays, the second putting the Mount ahead, 60-53, with 7:17 left.  Luke McEldon hit 1-of-2 at the line, and Kebe converted a steal into a dunk to give the Mount a 63-53 advantage.  The closets the Broncs (2-17, 1-9 MAAC) would get the rest of the way would be six points.

Lipscomb scored his career-high 20 points on an efficient 7-of-8 shooting overall and 4-of-5 from three-point range.  Keyes tallied 16 points in the win, hitting 6-of-10 from the field and 4-of-7 from beyond the arc.  Deveaux chipped in 13 points and six boards while Kebe had a strong all-around game with 12 points, nine rebounds and three steals.  Zion Cruz paced Rider with 22 points while Flash Burton chipped in 20 in the loss.

The Mount's defensive pressure wore down the Broncs in the second half as Rider shot just 24.2 percent (8-of-33) overall and 0-of-7 from three-point range in the second stanza.  The Mount shot 55.0 percent in the second half, hitting 11-of-20 from the field while going 4-for-7 from three-point range.

Cruz sparked Rider in the opening minutes, hitting four three-pointers as the Broncs jumped out to a 17-to-9 lead.  Rider held a 10-point lead, 21-11, before the Mount started chipping away at the deficit.  Trailing 25-18, Anthony Arrington, Jr., scored in the paint to start a 6-0 Mountaineer run.  McEldon and Deveaux each converted in the paint to make it 25-24.  Rider pushed the lead back to seven, 33-26, after a Burton three-pointer with 2:34 left in the half.  The Mount, however, closed the half on a 7-0 run to tie the score at 33-33 at the break.  Lipscomb hit a three-pointer, Keyes scored on a drive, and Kebe hit a pair of free throws to fuel the run.

GAME NOTES

• The Mount has now won two in a row against Rider, but the Broncs hold a 17-to-15 edge in the all-time series.  The Mount is now 3-4 against Rider in MAAC regular season matchups.
• Xavier Lipscomb, who entered the game having hit 44-of-45 (.978) at the foul line in MAAC regular season games, missed both ends of a two-shot foul early in the second half.  He finished the game 2-for-4 at the line, and is now 77-for-85 (.906) at the line this year.
• The Mount's starting lineup of Lipscomb, Keyes, Kebe, Deveaux and McEldon started together for the sixth consecutive game.  

UP NEXT:  The Mount heads to Saint Peter's on Friday, January 30, for an 8:00 p.m. matchup that will air on ESPNU.  The Mount's next home game is Sunday, February 1, at 2:00 p.m. against Manhattan.