Box Score Location: Seabury Center (Berea, Kentucky)
The Basics:
Mount St. Joseph (4-0, 0-0 HCAC) traveled down I-75 to square off with the Mountaineers of Berea College (2-2, 0-0), and came home with a hard fought win. The Lions got a huge effort from point guard Andrew Finley (Cincinnati, Ohio/ Walnut Hills) to lead them to a 71-67 victory.
How it happened:
The Lions traveled to Berea College expecting a tough game, and thats exactly what they got. From the opening tip-off the game was extremely close. The first half of the game was extremely close. The Lions would hold the lead for most of the first half, as Adam Goetz (Erlanger, KY/ St. Henry) led the way offensively. Goetz scored 12 first half points on the strength of four made three pointers. With 2:37 to play in the half and the score tied, the Mountaineers would go on an 8-3 run to close the frame, taking a 37-32 lead into the break.
Coming out of the break the Lions would score the first six points to take an early second half lead. The teams would exchange leads three times through the early portion of the half. At the 12:38 mark the score would again be tied, from there the Lions began to take control. On the strength of an outstanding stretch of play by Finley, who scored 16 consecutive points for the Lions. With 4:41 to play the Lions held their largest lead of the game at 14 points, the score 65-51. They struggled to close out the Mountaineers. The lead was cut all the way to three at the 1:51 mark, but Finley again took over for the Lions, drilling a three and following that up with a layup. The Lions were able to make enough free throws down the stretch to secure the victory.
Standouts:
Continuing his torrid early stretch Andrew Finley scored 32 points for the Lions, to go along with 9 rebounds and 6 assists. Through the first four games of the season Finley is averaging 22.8 points per game, to go along with 5.5 rebounds and 3 assists.
Freshman Adam Goetz also continued his solid start to the season with 18 points, to go along with 3 rebounds and 3 steals.
Up Next:
Mount St. Joseph plays host to the Crusaders of Capital University (4-0, 0-0) on Sunday Nov. 27th, the game is schedule to tip-off at 5:00 PM in the Harrington Center.
