Emmitsburg, Md. (February 5, 2026)--Mount St. Mary's lost to Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference leading Merrimack, 87-70, on Thursday night at Knott Arena.  A 23-0 Merrimack run proved to be too much to overcome for the Mountaineers in the loss.  Trey Deveaux paced the Mount (10-15, 6-8 MAAC) with 15 points in the game.

The Mount's Arlandus Keyes drained a three-pointer for a 40-37 advantage in the final minute of the first half.  The Warriors (15-9, 11-2 MAAC) made it a one-point game at the half (40-39) on a pair of Dylan Veillette free throws, and Merrimack opened the second half with 21 unanswered points to cap the 23-0 run for a commanding 62-40 lead with 13:24 left in the game.  Merrimack led by as much as 27 points en route to the 87-70 victory.

In the first half, the Mount went on a 10-to-1 run to take a 32-30 lead with 3:33 remaining in the opening stanza.  Mason So started the run with a three-pointer, Patrick Haigh added a pull-up jumper, and Justin Amadi hit a pair of free throws to tie the score at 29-29.  After Merrimack's Kevair Kennedy went 1-of-2 at the line, Abdou Khadre Kebe drained a three-pointer for a 32-30 Mount lead.  With the score tied at 34-34, Amadi hit a pair of free throws and Keyes went 1-for-2 at the line to make it 37-34.  Merrimack's Andres Marrerro hit a three-pointer to tie the score, setting up the final minute of the half.

Deveaux, who scored a season-high 23 points at Merrimack on January 2, led the Mount with 15 points, hitting 7-of-8 at the line in the game.  Luke McEldon chipped in 12 points and seven rebounds while Kebe added 11 points while matching a career best with nine boards.  Keyes added nine points and four boards while freshman Yakhya Diop contributed a career-best nine rebounds for the Mount in the game.  Ernest Shelton led Merrimack with 27 points with Kennedy chipping in 25 points and seven assists.  The duo combined for 52 points in the game, hitting 15-of-26 from the field and 17-of-20 at the foul line in the win.

UP NEXT:  The Mount visits Iona on Saturday, February 7, for a 7:00 p.m. matchup.

NOTES

• Merrimack outscored the Mount, 48-30, in the second half, hitting 14-of-23 (.609) from the field, 5-of-10 (.500) from three-point range and 15-of-18 (.833) at the foul line.
• The Mount led 40-39 at the half, the most points in the first half for the Mountaineers since scoring 45 against Sacred Heart on December 3.
• The win was the first for Merrimack at Knott Arena in the all-time series.  The Mount is now 8-3 all-time against Merrimack, including 4-1 at home.
• Mount St. Mary's is tied for eighth place in the MAAC standings with Sacred Heart at 6-8, one game behind Fairfield (7-7) for sixth place with Saturday's opponent Iona in between at 6-7.  The top six teams in the MAAC standings earn a first round bye in the MAAC Tournament.