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| Patreick Panetta scored a career-high 18 points on Saturday afternoon. |
Mount Saint Mary jumped out a quick 6-0 lead on a lay-up from Tim Morris, a steal and conversion from Jason Cardez and another lay-up from Chris Harrison. The Blue Knights would go on to build a 12 point edge with 16:36 to play in the first half, when Harrison knocked down a jumper.
Mount Saint Mary grabbed its largest lead of the afternoon, 27-11, when Harrison knocked down a pair of free-throws with just over 12:00 left in the half. From there, Mount Saint Vincent would reel off a 24-7 run to take a 35-34 lead with just under four minutes left in the first period. A lay-up from Panetta pushed them out in front for the remainder of the half.
The Dolphins would go on to match their largest lead of the day, at eight points, on another lay-in from Panetta with just 27 seconds remaining before halftime.
In the first 20:00 Panetta scored 15 of his 18 points on 7-8 shooting from the field in just 11 minutes of work. Eric Lastres (Bayside, NY/Archbishop Molloy) also had a strong half, as he pulled down five boards in the period. Senior captain Derek Charlton (Yonkers, NY/St. Raymond’s) came off the bench to score 10 points and grab seven rebounds.
For the half, Mount Saint Vincent shot a blistering .613 (19-31) from the field, including .500 (3-6) from behind the arc. The Dolphins held a 25-14 edge in rebounds after the first period as they lead 46-38.
The Blue Knights opened the second half with two quick buckets, but could not catch the Dolphins until there was 10:45 remaining in the game. The teams battled back-and-forth, with the Dolphins holding the lead, until Alex Kuchar tied the score at 67-67 on a jumper.
Mount Saint Mary would retake a two point lead at 69-67 with 9:12 left on a lay-up from Harrison, but Mount Saint Vincent’s Dino Johnson (Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam) answered right away with a three to give the Dolphins the lead back with just under nine minutes remaining.
Following Johnson’s three, Mount Saint Mary would run out to a six point lead with 4:06 left on a three-pointer from Cardez. Mount Saint Mary looked to put the game away with 56 seconds left when Morris nailed a jumper to put the Blue Knights up five.
Johnson then rushed up the floor and banged home a three to pull Mount Saint Vincent within two with 51 ticks left in regulation. After a missed jumper by Morris, Johnson grabbed the rebound and found Charlton streaking down the left side. A perfect pass found him and he knocked in a jumper and was fouled with eight seconds left.
Charlton missed the free-throw and then three straight time outs followed after Morris came up with the rebound and crossed mid-court. Once play resumed Panetta stole the in-bound pass and was fouled with a chance to win the game from the foul-line with two seconds left. He hit one of two and a desperation shot by the Blue Knights fell short and gave the Dolphins a hard fought 88-87 win.
Charlton finished with 18 points in the game to go along with 10 rebounds, while Joe Cooke (Mt. Vernon, NY/Fordham Prep) finished up with 15 on the strength of 3-6 shooting from long range. Johnson ended the game with 10 points, including the two huge threes late in the game. He also would go on to finish with a game and career-high 11 assists.
Mount Saint Mary showed five players in double-figures, including Morris who had a game-high 23 points. He also paced everyone with 19 rebounds and added a pair of assists. Harrison also topped the 20 point mark with 22 and grabbed seven rebounds.
For the game, Mount Saint Vincent shot .514 (36-70), including an impressive .583 (7-12) from long range. The Dolphins did struggle at the foul line, converting just nine of 20 attempts. The Dolphins held a 48-40 edge on the glass in the contest, including being plus-three on the offensive side.
The win moves Mount Saint Vincent to 4-8 overall on the season and to 1-4 in Skyline play. The Dolphins hit the hardwood again on Monday night when they host Bard at 8:00 p.m.
