THROGS NECK, N.Y. – Desperately needing a victory to remain relevant in the Skyline Conference playoff picture, the Mount Saint Mary College men’s basketball team rallied from an eight-point half time deficit to defeat the College of Mount Saint Vincent, 83-72, on Thursday evening. The Blue Knights snapped a three-game losing skid and moved to 7-11 (6-7 Skyline), while the Dolphins fell to 7-9 (4-8 Skyline).
Mount Saint Vincent shot 61-percent in the first half and led by as many as 17 before taking a 36-28 advantage to the locker room. They pushed their lead back to double digits early in the second half, but the Blue Knights gradually snuck back into the game. A pair of free throws by sophomore
Carlos Valdez (Slate Hill, N.Y.) at the 13:32 mark brought the Mount back to within three (49-46).
Then, with Mount Saint Vincent leading 51-46, Mount Saint Mary kicked off the decisive run of the game. Over the course of the next three minutes, the Blue Knights turned the game on its head by scoring thirteen consecutive points. Valdez scored eight points during the run, including a dunk at the 10:42 mark.
Freshman
Lenny Ragaglia (Staten Island, N.Y.) knocked down a three-pointer at the 4:48 mark to extend the Mount lead to fourteen, but Mount Saint Vincent clawed back into the game with a 12-3 run. Junior
Matt Weinberger (Washingtonville, N.Y.), however, scored the next three points from the free throw line, allowing the Blue Knights to breathe easy down the stretch.
Valdez tied for a game-high with 24 points while shooting 8-of-13 from the field. The sophomore also grabbed 8 rebounds and dished out 5 assists. Freshman
Dylan McCann (Staten Island, N.Y.) was the next highest scorer with 14 points, while Weinberger and Ragaglia each chipped in with 12.
Sophomore Cody Gauvard (Rockaway Park, N.Y.) led the Dolphins with 24 points, connecting on 7-of-9 attempts from the floor and 10-of-13 tries from the free throw line. Freshman Sean Caputo (Staten Island, N.Y.) was the only other Dolphin to reach double figures with 13 points.
The teams combined to commit 55 personal fouls in the contest. Mount Saint Mary shot 27-of-51 from the free throw line, while Mount Saint Vincent made 14-of-23 attempts.
The Blue Knights shot 55.6-percent in the second half and finished at 44.8-percent from the contest. The Dolphins shot just 38.2-percent in the final twenty minutes, but still finished at 47.4-percent for the game.
With the victory, Mount Saint Mary moved into the sixth and final playoff position in the Skyline Conference standings. They sit a half-game in front of Yeshiva. The Blue Knights will look to solidify their positioning on Saturday as they travel to Maritime College for a 4:00 p.m. tip.