Riverdale, N.Y. – The College of Mount Saint Vincent Men's Basketball team ran its season opening win streak to five games on Tuesday night with a hard fought 77-70 win over league rival Mount Saint Mary. Senior Alvin Pegues (Brooklyn, N.Y.) posted a double-double for the Dolphins, while junior Omonya Onwe (Staten Island, N.Y.) led the Mount in scoring for the fifth time this season.
Mount Saint Mary held the lead on Tuesday night for just over a minute and a half at the start of the game after a Dylan McCann three-pointer. The Dolphins quickly responded with the next seven points to take a lead they would not relinquish. The Dolphins would push the lead to 12 points twice in the opening frame, with the last coming on a pair of Kevin Henry (Yonkers, N.Y.) free-throws at the 2:08 mark.
Down 35-23 following the Henry free-throws, the Knights responded with a quick 7-2 run to close the half and pull to within 37-30 heading into the intermission. The Knights scored 24 points in the paint in the opening period and were led by Joe Stabach's eight points. Mount Saint Vincent was led at the break by Dino Johnson's (Fort Johnson, N.Y.) nine points.
Mount Saint Vincent would open the second half with four straight points, including a three from Onwe to push the game back to a double-figure advantage. After a Pegues lay in pushed the Dolphins back in front by 10 at the 6:31 mark of the second, the Knights again put together a 12-9 spurt to pull within three points, but that would be as close as they would get the remainder of the contest.
The Dolphins quickly got the game back to a 12 point advantage after an 11-2 run, highlighted by a Sean Caputo (Staten Island, N.Y.) three-pointer with just under two minutes remaining in the contest. Mount Saint Vincent would convert 11 free-throws in the final 1:35 to secure its second league win of the season.
Mount Saint Mary would shoot 44.6-percent from the floor on the night and was led by a double-double from Carlos Valdez. He finished 7-for-9 from the floor on his way to 17 points and pulled down a game-high 17 rebounds, including seven on the offensive glass. Valdez also led all players with seven assists in the tilt.
Kevin Milella also played a strong game for the Knights with 16 points and six boards, while Stabach finished up with 12 points and five boards. Mount Saint Mary dominated the paint on Tuesday, scoring 50 of its 70 points inside.
Pegues went 6-for-11 from the floor on Tuesday on his way to 16 points and also added 10 rebounds for the Dolphins, seven of which came in the opening period. Onwe continued his strong early season play by going 7-for-16 from the floor on his way to a game-high 18 points.
Johnson rounded out the trio in double-figures for Mount Saint Vincent, knocking down three triples and adding a pair of assists and two steals. Pegues also blocked two of the Mount's three shots in the game.
Overall, the Dolphins shot 41.5-percent from the floor, but went just 5-for-21 from behind the arc. The Dolphins went 18-for-29 from the charity stripe, good for 62.1-percent.
The Dolphins forced better then 15 turnovers for the fifth time this season, with 27 forced on Tuesday. The Mount scored 23 points off of turnovers and posted a 14-8 edge in fast break points.
The win moves Mount Saint Vincent to 5-0 on the season and to 2-0 in Skyline Conference play. The Dolphins will look to extend their winning streak on the road Thursday night at Old Westbury. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.