Newburgh, N.Y. – Sophomore Daniel Wolff (Holtsville, N.Y.) led three players in double-figures on Tuesday night with a game-high 16 points as the Mount Saint Mary College Men's Basketball team opened the 2015-16 season with a hard fought 70-63 win over visiting New Paltz.
The game featured seven ties and 13 lead changes, with 10 lead changes coming in the opening period. New Paltz broke open its largest lead of the game late in the first half when Taylor Mulvey converted a pair of free-throws to move the Hawks in front 29-23 with 3:36 left before halftime.
Trailing by six, the Knights got a three-point field goal from Jason Jones (Lansdale, Pa.) to get to within 29-27 and a triple from Gerard Nocera (Holmdel, N.J.) in the final minute of the first half to knot the score at 32-32, before New Paltz hit a pair of free-throws with 23 seconds left to gain a slim 34-32 advantage heading into the intermission.
The visitors shot an efficient 54.5-percent from the floor in the first half, including a 5-for-10 effort from beyond the arc to build the lead. Seven different players scored with Nick Paquette and Brandon Guest leading the way with six points each. Nocera led all scorers at the break with nine points on 4-for-8 shooting for the Knights.
After converting at 50-percent from distance in the first half, New Paltz went 0-for-12 from behind the arc after halftime, with the Knights dropping five triples to surge past the Hawks. Trailing 38-35 early in the second half, the Knights used a 13-2 stretch started by a Wolff three to move in front 48-40 with just over 14 minutes left in regulation.
Mount Saint Mary maintained the lead until an R.J. Rosa lay-in tied the score at 53-53 and a Guest free-throw gave the Hawks their final lead of the game, at 54-53, with 9:06 left in the second half.
Behind by a point, Mount Saint Mary got another triple from Wolff to move in front for good in the game with just over seven minutes left in the game. The Hawks would get as close as one point in the late stages of the second period, but Wolff's fourth three-pointer of the game pushed Mount Saint Mary in front 66-60 with 1:47 remaining in the tilt. The Knights converted four free-throws in the final nine seconds to seal their initial win of the season.
Wolff finished the game shooting 5-for-7 from the floor overall and 4-for-5 from three-point distance on his way to 16 points. He closed out a solid all-around game with six rebounds and a pair of steals for the Mount. Stephen Steyer (Staten Island, N.Y.) and Nocera each added 13 points in the win, with Steyer securing eight rebounds and handing out three assists.
Sophomore Tyler McDine (Suffern, N.Y.) finished off Tuesday's game with a game-high seven assists to go along with six points and four rebounds. Jones chipped in with seven points and Jason Oder (Levittown, N.Y.) came off the bench to contribute six points and five rebounds. Freshman Connor Bacci (Bayside, N.Y.) finished off his collegiate debut with four assists and a pair of steals.
New Paltz was led by 13 points from Keegan Donovan and received 10 points each from Andrew Seniuk and Brandon Guest. Guest led the team with eight rebounds, with Rosa leading the team with five assists, adding six points and four rebounds.
Mount Saint Mary finished the game shooting 38.8-percent from the floor and went 8-for-25 from behind the arc. The Knights outrebounded the Hawks 38-36, turning 17 offensive rebounds into 17 second chance points. The Mount also converted 23 New Paltz turnovers into 27 points.
Tuesday's win moves Mount Saint Mary to 1-0 overall on the season. Next up for the Knights is a matchup with Oswego State on Friday night to open the Elmira Tournament. Tip-off with the Lakers is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.