OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. – Placing five different players in double figures, Mount Saint Mary College completed a season sweep of Old Westbury with a 77-63 victory on Saturday afternoon. The win is the fifth in a row for the Knights, who improved to 13-5 overall (11-2 Skyline), and guaranteed the first winning regular season for the program since 2005-06.
Trailing by three in the early going, Mount Saint Mary freshmen Joe Stabach (Staten Island, N.Y.) and Donte Howell (Baldwin, N.Y.) combined on an 11-0 run to send the Knights to a 21-13 advantage. Stabach kicked off the streak with a three-pointer, followed up with a layup on the ensuing possession, and Howell capped the run with back-to-back three-pointers.
Then, leading by seven with five minutes to go in the half, sophomore Lenny Ragaglia (Staten Island, N.Y.) connected on consecutive three-pointers to stake the Knights to a 13-point edge, the same margin they would carry into the locker room with a 37-24 lead.
Mount Saint Mary led by a comfortable margin for most of the second half, but Old Westbury would make one more push to get back into the contest. Freshman Matthew Duffy (Smithtown, N.Y.) drained a three-pointer with 4:49 remaining to complete a 7-0 run for the Panthers and make the score, 64-61.
Stabach answered with a pair of free throws on the next trip, and after Old Westbury missed a pair of freebies at the other end, Howell found junior Carlos Valdez (Carolina, Puerto Rico) for a layup in the paint. Following a missed three-point by the Panthers, senior Tim Morris (Greenwich, N.Y.) collected an offensive rebound for the Knights and was fouled on the putback attempt. The senior made both attempts at the line to extend the lead back to nine at 70-61.
The Knights would make 7-of-10 free throws inside the final two minutes while limiting Old Westbury to just one bucket, sealing a 77-63 victory.
Ragaglia led the Mount with 15 points, all of his damage coming from three-point range (5-of-7). Stabach and Howell each connected twice from downtown and finished with 12 points apiece. Freshman Chris Pisciotta (New Hyde Park, N.Y.) and junior Kevin Milella (Floral Park, N.Y.) also reached double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Valdez tallied nine points and a team-high 10 rebounds.
Senior Lester Prosper (Bellmore, N.Y.) led Old Westbury with 29 points (13-of-20 FG) and 13 rebounds. Senior Frantz Granjean (Brooklyn, N.Y.) added 13 points, while Duffy finished with 11. The Panthers struggled to find the range from three-point territory, connecting on just 3-of-22 attempts (13.6-percent).
The streaking Knights head to Maritime College for a midweek contest on Wednesday, February 2. Start time is 7:00 p.m.