GALLOWAY, N.J. - Led by 19 points from senior Carlos Valdez (Carolina, Puerto Rico) and 17 points from sophomore Donte Howell (Baldwin, N.Y.), Mount Saint Mary College defeated top-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology, 81-71, in the ECAC Metro Region Tournament semifinals on Saturday. The fourth-seeded Knights will take on third-seeded Brooklyn College in tomorrow's championship game.
A tight game throughout, the Mount broke up a tie game with a 6-0 run near the midpoint of the second half. A three-pointer from junior Lenny Ragaglia (Staten Island, N.Y.) at 10:08 gave the Knights a 59-53 advantage. When Stevens closed to within two, MSMC put together another 6-0 run and when a jumper from Howell went down at 6:44, the Knights led, 65-57.
The Ducks got back to within three at the 4:27 mark when senior Mike Cutri (West Caldwell, N.J.) drained a three-pointer to make it 65-62. But the Knights answered on the ensuing possession as sophomore Joe Stabach (Staten Island, N.Y.) drilled a triple to push the lead back to six. Stabach was also fouled on the play and completed a pivotal four-point play with the free throw.
A bucket from Valdez at 3:31 advanced the lead to nine, and after a Stevens turnover, Valdez threw down a dunk on the fastbreak, making it 73-62, Knights. Stevens would get back to within seven down the stretch, but the Mount made four free throws inside the final thirty seconds to put the game away.
Valdez hit on 7-of-10 from the field and added 10 rebounds and four assists to his 19-point effort. Howell also shot 7-of-10 from the field to finish with 17 points. Stabach connected three times from long range for 12 points, while Ragaglia added 11 points.
Not to be forgotten, Mount senior Kevin Milella (Floral Park, N.Y.) completed his consistent and hard-earned march to 1,000 career points. Needing just seven points to reach the mark, Milella's bucket with 2:59 remaining in the first half pushed him to 1,001. The senior joins Valdez as the second Knight to reach the milestone this season.
For Stevens, junior Sheldon Jones (Queens, N.Y.) led the way with 24 points on 9-of-17 from the field. Senior Simon Smith (Cranford, N.J.) added 20 points and Cutri finished with 11.
Both teams shot 49-percent from the field, but the Knights connected on 8-of-19 from three and 15-of-16 at the line. The Mount also held a 37-25 advantage on the glass.
The Knights, now 22-7 overall, will take on Brooklyn College in tomorrow's championship game at 4:00 p.m. Mount Saint Mary is seeking its first ever ECAC title. The program's only other ECAC championship game appearance came in 2002-03.