ONEONTA, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College men's basketball team dropped their second consecutive tight game, 81-77, this time to SUNY Geneseo in the first round of the Tom Greene Tip-Off hosted by Hartwick College. The Knights have lost their first two games of the season by a combined total of seven points to fall to 0-2.

The Knights struck first in the game and held a 40-38 lead going into the second half. Freshman Joe Stabach (Staten Island, N.Y.) hit a three-pointer six minutes into the half to give the Knights a ten point cushion, which proved to be their largest advantage of the evening. Senior Tim Morris (Greenwich, N.Y.) netted nine of his 15 points in the first half.

Mount Saint Mary led for most of the second half, but Geneseo rallied to tie the game at 66 with 6:29 remaining. Following a Mount time-out, Geneseo seized the advantage on a layup by junior John Drazan (Delmar, N.Y.). Stabach hit a big three-pointer with 5:27 left to regain the lead for the Knights. Once again, Drazan came up big for Geneseo, knocking down a jumper with just 1:34 left in the game to tie things up at 76. In the final minute of play, consecutive trips to the foul line by freshman Conor Fedge (Bellport, N.Y.) and senior Nate Cornish (Oneida, N.Y.) solidified the win for Geneseo. Mount Saint Mary missed five shots inside the final 62 seconds.

Junior Carlos Valdez (Carolina, Puerto Rico) led all scorers with 24 points and also tallied a team-high five rebound. Stabach was 3-of-5 from behind the line and finished with 23 points. Freshman Donte Howell (Baldwin, N.Y.) dished out five assists in the loss.

Drazan led Geneseo with 18 points, while Fedge chipped in with 12.

The Mount will look to rebound quickly when they take on St. Joseph's College - Brooklyn in the consolation game. The tip is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on Saturday.