Mount Men’s Basketball Falls in Home Opener

NEWBURGH – The Mount Saint Mary College men’s basketball team lost in their home opener to Alfred State.

The Knights started out on top with Ryan Graham and Matthew Walsh scoring the first two buckets to go up 4-0. The Pioneers would take the lead, but a Justin Rivera jumper put the Mount back up 10-9. The next three made shots for Alfred State would all be threes as the Knights struggled to defend the Pioneers from beyond the arc, who shot 21-44 from three (47.7%). Five straight from Connor Cyran brought the game back to within three, but that was the closest Mount Saint Mary would get for the remainder of the game. The Knights were able to score closing out the half and throughout the second half. It was their inability to get stops on the defensive end that allowed the Pioneers to build their lead to 16 going into the half.

The Knights shot a respectable 45.71% in the second half, but it seemed as if Alfred State could not miss on the offensive end, shooting 56.41% from the field during the last 20 minutes. Justin Rivera showed off his moves this game, which included an acrobatic and-one layup where he converted his free throw for a three-point play. Matt Monaco provided some energy off the bench with two offensive boards including one put-back layup. The Pioneers continued to rain on the points as a three with 15 seconds remaining gave them their largest lead of the game as the final score was 108-75 Alfred State.