NEWBURGH, N.Y. – Junior Kevin Milella (Floral Park, N.Y.) scored 24 points to lead Mount Saint Mary College to an important early-season Skyline victory over SUNY College at Old Westbury on Saturday afternoon. After an intense back-and-forth contest, the Knights (3-3, 2-1 Skyline) emerged with a 73-72 victory over the Panthers (1-3, 1-2 Skyline).

With under a minute to play and the Mount leading by two, Milella found freshman Joe Stabach (Staten Island, N.Y.) on a back door play. Stabach made a tough layup in the paint to send the Knights to a 68-64 advantage with 53 seconds remaining.

After back-to-back Old Westbury misses, Mount Saint Mary junior Carlos Valdez (Carolina, Puerto Rico) went to the line and drained a pair of free throws. The Panthers weren't done yet, however, as junior Craig Wilson (Lakeview, N.Y.) went coast-to-coast to cut it back to four.

Now with 14 seconds remaining, it was Milella's turn to sink a pair of free throws. But Old Westbury senior Frantz Granjean (Brooklyn, N.Y.) nailed a three-pointer to make it a one-possession game at 72-69. Milella made one-of-two at the other end, only to have Wilson drain another three-pointer with half a second remaining to make it a one-point margin (73-72). Needing only to inbound the ball to start the clock, Stabach ran the baseline and found Valdez to seal the victory for the Knights.

Mount Saint Mary led by as many as 13 in the early minutes of the second half, but a spectacular performance from Old Westbury's Granjean kept the Panthers in the ball game. With his team trailing 49-38, Granjean scored 11 points during a 14-0 run that gave the visitors a three-point advantage.

The game swung back-and-forth several times over the next few minutes until a pair of Valdez free throws sent the Knights to a one-point lead (62-61) with less than five minutes to play. After a defensive stop, Milella converted in the paint to push the margin to three.

Milella finished with 24 points on 9-of-14 from the floor. Valdez played his best game of the season in racking up 17 points to go along with 12 rebounds. Stabach did an excellent job coming off the bench and chipped in with 10 points.

For Old Westbury, Granjean finished with 24 points, 20 of which came during a red-hot second half. The senior shot 10-for-15 from the field and also pulled down a team-high 10 boards. Senior Lester Prosper (Bellmore, N.Y.) finished with 16 points, while junior Jamal Little (Spring Valley, N.Y.) tallied 15 points on just 5-of-16 shooting.

The Knights jumped out to a big first half advantage with a 12-4 run near the midpoint of the period. A three-pointer from sophomore Dylan McCann (Staten Island, N.Y.) gave the Mount a 28-18 lead with 8:08 to play. Old Westbury responded with an 8-0 run of their own to make it 31-29 with 3:15 to play in the half, but the home team came back with a 7-0 for 38-29 lead. An emphatic dunk from Prosper inside the final minute cut the Panther deficit to seven at the break.

Now with two victories in a row, the Mount continues Skyline Conference play with a home date against Bard on Wednesday, December 8. The second game of a women's/men's double-header, the tip is set for 8:00 p.m.