Lions' men's basketball team wins season opener over Wilmington College, 63-52

The College of Mount St. Joseph men's basketball team kicked off the 2013-2014 season on a winning note with a 63-52 win on against Wilmington College Saturday in the first day of action at the MSJ Tip-Off Classic. The Lions, 1-0, will take on Heidelberg University, 1-0, on Nov. 17 in the final game of the Classic. Heidelberg won on Saturday over Transylvania University.

Both the Mount and Wilmington struggled with their shooting in the first half, with both team's connecting on only around 30 percent from the field. The Lions forced the Quakers into 10 first half turnovers, as they grabbed a 28-22 advantage at the break. The Mount built the lead up to double-digits, 36-25, with 13:43 left in the game thanks to a balanced scoring attack before the Quakers fought back to knock down the deficit to 44-38 with 7:20 on the second half clock. A three-point field goal by Andy Countryman (Peebles, OH/Peebles) gave the Mount another double-digit lead, 50-40, with 4:44 and the Lions and held on down the stretch.

The Lions out-shot the Quakers in the second half from the field, 46 to 33 percent. Countryman led the way for the Mount with 19 points while David Mann (Fairfield, OH/Cincinnati Christian) chipped in 14 points while Ken Kunkel (Cincinnati, OH/Colerain) added eight rebounds.