MSMC Drops Skyline Conference Road Decision

KINGS POINT – The Mount Saint Mary College Men’s Basketball team closed a three-game conference road swing on Saturday afternoon with a 64-46 loss at the United States Merchant Marine Academy. Chris Yearwood and Paul Sienke combined for 28 points for the Knights.

Saturday’s loss, the Mount’s seventh straight defeat, drops it to 5-13 overall on the season and to 3-7 in Skyline Conference play. The Mariners improve to 11-8 overall and 8-4 against league opponents.

First Half
Mount Saint Mary got out to a quick 8-4 advantage following a triple from Yearwood just 1:28 into the contest.

The Knights matched their game-high four-point lead when Yearwood converted a layup to push the Mount in front 10-6 at the 17:52 mark of the first half.

USMMA grabbed its first lead of the game on a Kody Robinson triple that pushed it in front 12-11 just over four minutes into the contest.

Mount Saint Mary battled back to regain a 20-19 advantage on a Sienke conversion at the 9:15 mark of the opening stanza before going over six minutes without scoring.

USMMA took advantage of the scoring drought with a 12-0 run to grab a 31-20 lead on a Bryce Bristow lay-in with just over five minutes left before halftime.

Yearwood stopped the drought with a three-point play at the three-minute mark, but USMMA responded with an Isaac Vencel basket to spread its lead back to 33-23.

The two teams went on to trade buckets before a layup from Ryan Graham with 63 seconds left in the half brought the Mount to within 35-27 at the intermission.

Mount Saint Mary shot 32.4-percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes and 2-for-11 from three-point range.

USMMA shot an efficient 51.7-percent from the floor and knocked in three triples to build the halftime advantage.

Yearwood paced the Knights with nine points at the break.
Robinson led all scorers with 10 first half points for the Mariners.

Second Half
The Mariners scored the first six points of the second stanza to open a 41-27 advantage on a Robinson bucket just over three minutes into the half.

Yearwood and Jayden Figueroa made back-to-back buckets to stop the run, but the Mariners responded with makes from Blaine McDonough and Vencel to regain a 45-31 advantage with 14:09 left in regulation time.

A J.P. Egan layup with 11:48 left in the second half brought the Knights to within 48-37, but that would be as close as the Mount would get the rest of the way.

The Knight sustained a three-minute scoring drought after the Egan bucket, with USMMA pulling in front 53-37 with just under nine minutes left to play.

The Mariners’ lead grew to a game-high 21 points, at 64-43, on a Robinson triple with 1:28 left in the contest.

Miles Calame cut the deficit to the final 64-46 decision with a three-pointer in the final minute.

Mount Saint Mary went 7-for-31 from the floor after halftime and 2-for-10 from three-point range.

USMMA finished the second half shooting 46.2-percent, including a pair of three-pointers.

Yearwood poured in eight more points after halftime for the Knights.

McDonough led the Mariners’ scoring attack after halftime with 10 points.

For The Knights
Yearwood returned to double-figures, matching the game-high with 17 points. He finished up the contest with six rebounds, an assist and a steal.

Sienke recorded 11 points for the Mount, totaling five rebounds and a pair of assists.

Connor Cyran led the Knights on the glass with seven rebounds, chipping in four points, two assists, a block and a steal.

Mike Dedda grabbed six rebounds and handed out an assist for the Knights.

For The Mariners
Robinson equaled the game-high with 17 points, going 6-for-14 from the floor with three triples.

McDonough closed the afternoon with 16 points on 8-for-10 shooting, adding seven rebounds, two assists and three steals.

Vencel tallied 12 points on the strength of 6-for-8 shooting and led all players with four steals.

Josh Kauffman hauled in a game-high eight rebounds and contributed six points.