Riverdale, N.Y. – The College of Mount Saint Vincent Men's Basketball team dropped its second straight decision on Sunday afternoon following a tough 75-71 defeat at the hands of Penn State Altoona. The Dolphins got a game-high 25 points from Brandon Serrano (Hempstead, N.Y.) and a career-high 21 points from freshman guard Christian Giles (East Elmhurst, N.Y.).

After the Dolphins got on the board in the first 1:12 of the contest of a Giles conversion, the visiting Lions ran off 21 of the next 30 points to jump in front 21-11 on a Jonathan Ross triple with 10:33 left in the opening frame. Ross accounted for nine points in the run, all coming on three-point field goals.

Penn State Altoona pushed its lead to a game-high 13 points on a pair of Tay Charles free-throws with 7:38 to play in the opening stanza, before the Dolphins strung together a 19-9 spurt to close to within three points with 2:03 left before halftime. Giles accounted for seven of the points for the Dolphins.

The Lions did not allow a point in the half following a Gerard Fraser (Staten Island, N.Y.) jumper with 2:03 left and got a three point play from Evan Greening in the final minute to take a 42-36 halftime advantage. The Lions held a 15-5 edge in second chance points at the break and were led by 12 points from Ross.

The Dolphins came out of the break and got the first four points to slash its deficit to a single basket on conversions from Giles and Serrano. The Mount would get the deficit to one point on an Antonio Johnson (Fort Johnson, N.Y.) free-throw, but the Lions spread the lead back out to seven on a Ross jumper with 9:58 left in regulation.

The Dolphins would rally with a 12-7 stretch to tie the score on a Giles bucket with 6:47 left and would take their first lead since 2-0 on two Giles free-throws with 6:07 remaining in the tilt.

The score would be tied five times in the final 6:47 on Sunday before Ross gave Penn State Altoona the lead for good on a jumper with 1:34 to push his team in front 72-71. The Lions scored nine of the final 12 points in the game, including two Ross free-throws in the final seconds to secure the win.

Ross led three Penn State Altoona players in double-figures with 23 points on 6-for-13 shooting overall, including four three-pointers and a 7-for-9 effort from the free-throw line. Dylan Leazier knocked in three triples on his way to 19 points and Greening went 8-for-11 overall and recorded 18 points. Tay Charles handed out seven assists and Michael Wigfield hauled in a game-high 10 rebounds.

Serrano scored better than 20 points for the second time this season after going 8-for-18 from the floor. He grabbed eight rebounds, swiped five steals and blocked three shots to close out a strong day. Giles went 7-for-13 from the floor and 7-for-8 from the line to reach his career-high point total and led the team with six assists. Taj Lake (Fruitland Park, Fla.) also notched a career-high with 10 points.

Fraser had a solid outing for the Dolphins and led the team in rebounds with nine while chipping in with seven points. D'Andre McPhatter (Bronx, N.Y.) finished with seven points for the Mount and a pair of steals.

Mount Saint Vincent finished the game shooting 40.7-percent from the floor, but just 3-for-13 from three-point distance. The Dolphins were outrebounded 41-29 overall and outscored in second chance points 19-9. The Mount did force 23 turnovers and turned those into 19 points.

Sunday's loss drops Mount Saint Vincent to 1-2 overall on the young season. The Dolphins will look to rebound on Wednesday afternoon when they travel to Division I St. Francis Brooklyn. Tip-off with the Terriers is set for 2:00 p.m.