CINCINNATI, Ohio – On Saturday, December 30th your Mount St. Joseph University men's basketball team welcomed the Mountaineers of Berea College to the Harrington Center for a non-conference matchup. The Mountaineers got the best of the Lions in the first half building an 18-point lead. In the second half, the Lions would cut the deficit down to five but couldn't complete the 18-point comeback falling 82-73.
In the first half, the Mountaineers looked unstoppable. Berea needed just ten minutes to take a commanding 21-point lead as the Lions trailed 29-8 halfway through the first half. The Mount answered but it was not enough to outweigh the Mountaineers tremendous shooting from beyond the arc. Berea finished the half 10-14 from 3-point range powering them to a 48-30 lead at halftime.
Coming out of the locker room, the Lions looked like an inspired team. To begin the half, each squad traded buckets until the Lions went on a 11-2 run. A pair of 3-pointers from
Dylan Hammonds gave the Lions some momentum as they chopped down the Mountaineers advantage. Berea would keep the pressure on however holding a 68-54 lead with nine minutes left to play.
With under a half to play, the Lions needed to make a push. A pair of layups from
Nate Kratzer followed by a floater from
Jason Lavender trimmed the deficit to just eight with 5:55 left to play. After a bucket from Berea, Hammonds and Kratzer both got shots to fall making the score 70-64 with just over 3 minutes left. But, Berea would get a pair of and-ones to fall shifting their lead back to 12.
With just over two minutes left the Lions needed baskets quickly to crawl their way back. A pair of free throws from
Jack Kolar got the Lions started. Layups from
Luke Collinsworth and Lavender set up a huge 3-pointer from Hammonds to cut the Berea lead to 78-73 with 30 seconds left. But, Berea would follow with a pair of key defensive stops to put a halt to the Lions comeback. After 40 minutes of play, the Lions fell to Berea 82-73.
Hammonds led the way for the Lions scoring a career-high 19 points and 5 rebounds. Collinsworth was also productive adding 18 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Lavender was solid off the bench tying his career-high in points with 11 while adding 4 rebounds.
UP NEXT: Your Mount St. Joseph Lions won't be back in action until the New Year. On Wednesday, January 3
rd the Lions will welcome the Beavers of Bluffton University to the Harrington Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30pm.
