Mount Stalls in Second Half of Skyline Opener

NEWBURGH – Mount Saint Mary College men’s basketball lost their Skyline Conference season opener to Sarah Lawrence Saturday afternoon.

Mount Saint Mary started off their Skyline Conference play against Sarah Lawrence at home this afternoon. Matthew Walsh got the Knights going with their first points of the game, as Walsh was also one of the leading scorers for the Mount. They got off to a solid start, taking a 9-3 lead and forcing the Gryphons to take a timeout early. The Knights shot well in the first half, just over 45% from the field and 40% from deep, something they haven’t done recently. Senior guard Ryan Graham got his layup to drop and the foul as the Mount led 16-7. Mount Saint Mary was up by as many as nine points in the half, but Sarah Lawrence fought their way back to tie the game at 26-26. Justin Rivera continues to be a spark off the bench for the Knights as their six-man had another solid outing with 14 points. Physical play from the Gryphons played in the Mount’s favor, as they were able to get to the charity stripe 26 times this game. Unfortunately, they were only able to convert just over half of their free throws missing 12 total.

The first half was a high-scoring affair as Mount Saint Mary trailed 45-40 with 20 minutes to play. Sophomore forward Josiah Jones continues to get more comfortable as the season progresses and has looked to take advantage of his starting role. Both squads were held to just one bucket in the opening four minutes of the half. A jumper from the elbow from J.P. Egan tied the game up at 47-47 as the Knights looked to take over. At just over the halfway point, the momentum began to shift towards the Gryphons. Sarah Lawrence scored on five straight possessions and took a double-digit lead that they did not surrender. Mount Saint Mary would end up losing this game to the Gryphons 87-71.