NEWBURGH, N.Y. – Not much separated the two teams on Thursday evening and overtime was needed to decide the final result, but eventually, it was St. Joseph's College who emerged victorious over Mount Saint Mary College, 78-75, in a Skyline Conference semifinal. The Golden Eagles (22-5) advance to play Purchase in Saturday's championship game, while the Knights (18-8) will await a potential selection to the ECAC Tournament.

With the game tied at 61 late in the second half, St. Joseph's junior Steve Velazquez (Hauppauge, N.Y.) knocked down a three-pointer with 2:29 remaining to give the Golden Eagles a three-point advantage. The Knights missed back-to-back three-pointers on the ensuing possession, but St. Joseph's would turn the ball back over, giving the Mount a second chance. This time, with 1:03 to play, sophomore Lenny Ragaglia (Staten Island, N.Y.) drained a triple from the wing to tie the game at 64, the tenth tie of the evening.

Now with the clock under a minute, the Golden Eagles turned it over again on an errant pass from junior Trey Black (Bayport, N.Y.). The Knights had a chance to hold for the last shot, but freshman Donte Howell (Baldwin, N.Y.) was whistled for a controversial five-second call near the center line, turning the ball back over to St. Joseph's. As the clock ticked towards zero, junior Chris Jimenez (Huntington Station, N.Y.) drove hard to the basket, but his layup attempt hit the back of the rim and rolled out. An offensive rebound bounced to junior Olivier Laurent (Amityville, N.Y.) and his game-winning three-point attempt at the buzzer went in-and-out, forcing overtime.

In the extra session, Mount freshman Joe Stabach (Staten Island, N.Y.) hit a pretty, pull-up jumper with 48 seconds remaining to put the Knights on top by one, 73-72. On the next possession, however, Jimenez got loose for a three-pointer to push the Golden Eagles to a 75-73 advantage. Down at the other end, Mount junior Carlos Valdez (Carolina, Puerto Rico) rebounded a Stabach three-point miss and was fouled with 14 seconds remaining. Valdez made just 1-of-2 at the line, though, leaving the Knights down by a point, 75-74.

Forced to foul, the Knights sent Jimenez to the line, where he promptly swished a pair of attempts to make it 77-74. Ragaglia's three-point attempt with eight seconds to play was off the mark, but Jimenez turned it over after collecting the defensive rebound. The Mount inbounded the ball and St. Joseph's smartly fouled Howell. The freshman made the first and was forced to miss the second in an attempt for an offensive rebound. St. Joseph's freshman Cody Lohsen (Centereach, N.Y.) came away with the rebound, however, and was sent to the line. He made just one-of-two to make it 78-75 with one second remaining. Stabach's game-tying heave from seventy-five feet hit the backboard, but nothing else, allowing St. Joseph's to claim the victory.

A similarly played game to the regular season finale between the two teams, neither squad shot the ball particularly well. The Golden Eagles clocked in at 36.2-percent, with the Knights at 35.1-percent. Comparable as well, the Mount held a 58-40 advantage on the glass. Also eerily similar to the previous contest, the Knights struggled at the free throw line. Mount Saint Mary made just 9-of-19 attempts in the regular season game, and responded tonight with an 11-for-24 showing.

The Knights were led by Valdez's 16 points and 20 rebounds. They also got 12 points from Ragaglia, all by way of the three-pointer, and 10 points from Stabach. Senior Tim Morris (Greenwich, N.Y.) finished with eight points and 13 boards.

For the Golden Eagles, Jimenez led the way with 23 points. Black added 18 points and eight assists, while Velazquez chipped in with 16 points. Junior Vincent Russo (Sayville, N.Y.) rounded out the double-figure performances with 15 points on 4-of-8 from downtown.