CINCINNATI, Ohio - The Mount St. Joseph men's basketball team got back above .500 for the season and back to .500 in HCAC play with a hard fought victory over Berea on Wednesday. In the game the lead changed hands four times, the game was tied six times and each team led by 12 during the game. The Lions held on late and pulled away to secure the 84-77 victory.
The Lions were led by a quartet of double figure scorers,
Joe Brand led the way with a team and career-high 20 points despite playing only 25 minutes due to foul trouble. Joining him in double figures were
Matthew Menninger and
Luke Collinsworth who each score 19, Collinsworth added 11 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the year and second in a row.
Michael Loftis was huge off the bench scoring 13 points, playing a season-high 35 minutes and being the Lions primary ball handler for much of the game.
The Lions got on the board first as Brand drilled a three on their first possession, it was the first of a trio of three-pointers for the freshman in the first half. They maintained a narrow lead for much of the first 20 minutes, pushing their lead out to 12 with 6:41 to play. At that point Berea, who played a full court press for much of the game turned up the heat. The Mountaineers forced the Lions to turn the ball over on three consecutive possessions, with a quick 11-0 run they cut their deficit to just 1. They would eventually come all the way back to take a two point advantage into the halftime break.
The Lions were held scoreless over the first 4:53 of the second half, Berea scored 13 points during that time to go ahead by a game-high 15. The Lions answered with a 15-point run of their own to tie the game again at 57, with 11:42 to play. Collinsworth buried a pair of triples during the run and Brand hit a three and a tough contested layup. Over the next four minutes the game lead would exchange hands four times, and the score was tied four times. With the score tied at 69, Berea missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Menninger got a tough paint bucket to give the Lions the lead. After a defensive stop, Brand was fouled on his way to the rim and got fould to push them ahead by five. Another three-point play, this one from Menninger and good free throw shooting down the stretch secured the win for the Lions.
UP NEXT:
The Lions will hit the road on Saturday, heading to take on the alma mater of Coach Carrigan the Hanover Panthers. The game will get underway at 2:00 from Collier Arena on the campus of Hanover College. The Lions and Panthers will go into that game with identical 4-4 records in HCAC play this season, and looking to move above .500 in league play.
