ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. – They needed an extra five minutes on Tuesday evening, but the Mount Saint Mary College men’s basketball team eventually prevailed, outscoring Bard College 11-6 in the first overtime to record an 83-78 victory. The Blue Knights ran their record to 5-6 overall and to 4-2 inside the Skyline Conference, while the Raptors remained winless at 0-10 (0-6 Skyline).
A back-and-forth game down the stretch, Mount Saint Mary entered the final minute of regulation trailing by two, 72-70. After a steal by junior
Tim Morris (Greenwich, N.Y.), freshman
Lenny Ragaglia (Staten Island, N.Y.) put up a three-pointer that would have given the Blue Knights the lead. The shot was off the mark, but senior
Chris Kingly (Washingtonville, N.Y.) put back the offensive rebound to tie the game at 72. Both teams had failed possessions in the final seconds, sending the contest to overtime.
Bard senior Justin White (New York, N.Y.) scored the first bucket of extra time, but Mount Saint Mary sophomore
Kevin Milella (Floral Park, N.Y.) answered with a layup. With just under four minutes to play, Morris banked home a layup, only to be answered by a White layup at the other end. A jumper by Mount junior
Matt Weinberger (Washingtonville, N.Y.) put the Blue Knights back on top, 78-76, and then Milella extended the lead with one-of-two from the free throw line.
Then, as Bard attempted to tie the game with a little more than minute remaining, Morris became a one-man wrecking crew at the defensive end of the floor. The junior blocked three shots in a span of 17 seconds and the possession eventually resulted in a Bard turnover. Weinberger made 1-of-2 from the line to ice the game and the Blue Knights left town with an 83-78 victory.
Ragaglia led the Mount with 22 points and connected on 4-of-10 from behind the arc. Milella posted a double-double with 13 points and 12 boards, while Kingly chipped in with 14 points and 7 rebounds. Weinberger, despite shooting 1-for-5 from the foul line, tallied 11 points and a season-best 12 assists. Morris rounded out the starting five with 9 points, 3 assists, 5 blocks, and 2 steals.
Bard received an outstanding individual performance from White. The senior shot 11-for-22 from the field, 4-for-8 from three, and totaled a game-high 31 points before fouling out in overtime. Also reaching double figures were junior Christian Marghella (Closter, N.J.) with 14 points and freshman Jeremy Arnstein (Washington, D.C.) with 13 points.
For the game, the Blue Knights shot 57.6-percent from the field and 50.0-percent from three. The Raptors connected at just 39.7-percent from the floor. Mount Saint Mary owned a 42-33 edge on the glass.
The Mount will travel to SUNY College at Old Westbury for their next contest. The game with the Panthers is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 9.