NEWBURGH, N.Y. – Behind 19 points and 13 rebounds from junior Joe Henain (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.), Mount Saint Mary College defeated the College of Mount Saint Vincent, 74-68, in the Skyline Conference opener for both teams.  The Knights improve to 3-2 overall (1-0 Skyline), while the Dolphins fall back to 1-3 overall (0-1 Skyline).

A back-and-forth end to the first half saw the Dolphins grab a 32-31 advantage at the break.  Early in the second half, Mount Saint Vincent senior Shaquille Cunningham (Brooklyn, N.Y.) drained a jumper at 16:38 to give the Dolphins a five-point cushion (41-36).

The Knights thundered back with a 9-0 run to seize a 45-41.  The key sequence during the run was a three-point play from junior Donte Howell (Baldwin, N.Y.) that sent the Kaplan Center crowd into a frenzy.  Following a steal by senior Chris Frey (Old Brookville, N.Y.) at midcourt, Howell was fouled while finishing off the ensuing fast break that gave the Knights their first lead of the second half.

Mount Saint Vincent answered with a 7-0 run and when sophomore D'Andre McPhatter (Bronx, N.Y.) put home a tough bucket in the paint at 12:09, the Dolphins led 48-45.  The Knights counterpunched once again, this time with a 10-0 run of their own.  Junior Anthony Cipriano (Staten Island, N.Y.) connected on back-to-back triples during the run that made it 55-48, Knights.

Mount Saint Mary would lead the rest of the way, but not before one last threat from the Dolphins.  Mount Saint Vincent crawled to within three when Cunningham hit a pair of free throws with exactly one minute remaining.  But Mount Saint Mary junior Joe Stabach (Staten Island, N.Y.) knocked down just his second field goal of the night, a two-pointer with 40 seconds to play, to extend the advantage back to five.  Mount Saint Vincent missed a pair of shots at the other end and Howell sank a pair of free throws to put the game out of reach.

Howell led all scorers with 20 points, hitting on 4-of-8 from the field and 12-of-13 at the line.  Henain made 9-of-18 from the field for 19 points and completed his double-double with 13 rebounds.  Senior Ryan Straub (Massapequa, N.Y.) also reached double figures with 12 points.

Junior James Zuccaro (Gilbert, Ariz.) led the Dolphins with 17 points.  Cunningham added 14 points and a team-high seven rebounds, but hit on just 4-of-13 from the floor.

Mount Saint Mary returns to action on Saturday with a home date against SUNY College at Old Westbury.  The men's game is scheduled for a 3:00 p.m. start in the Kaplan Center.