BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College men's basketball team (19-5, 15-2 Skyline) clinched the No. 2 seed and a bye in the first round of the Skyline Conference Championship tournament with a 63-37 conference victory at Yeshiva University (6-18, 4-13 Skyline) and some help from St. Joseph's College (L.I.), which defeated Farmingdale State College Wednesday evening.

By clinching the bye, the Knights will now host a Skyline Conference semifinal matchup on Thursday, Feb. 27, at the Kaplan Center. Their opponent will be determined after Tuesday evening's quarterfinal contests.

Both teams were ice cold to open up Wednesday evening's contest, as both teams were held scoreless until the 17:08 mark. Senior forward Donte Howell (Baldwin, N.Y.) drained a three for the game's first points, kicking off a 16-2 run that put the Knights out well ahead for good. They kept the pressure on the Maccabees throughout the first half, hitting halftime with a 33-18 advantage.

The story was the same in the second half of Wednesday's matchup, as the Knights shut down the Macs' offense throughout the period, allowing just 18 more points en route to their fourth-straight win. Howell banked 10 of his 17 points in the second frame, while senior forward Joe Henain (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) grabbed eight second-half boards and blocked three shots to keep the momentum in the Knights' direction.

Senior forward Chris Pisciotta (New Hyde Park, N.Y.) matched Howell with a game-high 17 points, while Henain finished with 10 rebounds and four blocks. Already the program's career block leader, Henain stands just six blocked shots away from tying his own single-season record of 68.

The Macs were led by Benjy Ritholtz, who scored 11 points on the evening. Shlomo Weissberg pulled down a game-high 11 boards, but he was held down offensively by the Knights, who forced him to go 0-for-11 from the field.

The Knights shot 42.9 percent (21-of-49) Wednesday evening, while holding their opponents to just 27.6 percent (16-of-58) shooting from the field. 10 of the Knights' 21 field goals came from three-point range. The Knights also shot a season-high 84.6 percent (11-of-13) from the free-throw line in the win.

The Knights close out their regular season on Saturday, Feb. 22, when they host Farmingdale at the Kaplan Center. Saturday is also Senior Day for the Knights, who will commemorate their seven seniors prior to tip-off. The game is set to begin at 1 p.m. and will feature a live broadcast of all the festivities on MSMCKnights.com and Knight Radio.

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