Jan. 14, 2005

Fairleigh Dickinson Notes

TIP-INS...The Mount lost to Robert Morris, 80-56, at Knott Arena on Wednesday night to fall to 5-8 overall and 3-1 in the NEC. The loss prevented the Mount from a 4-0 NEC start for the first time in school history. The Mount trailed 41-38 at the half, but Robert Morris used a 15-to-4 run to start the second half and take control of the game. The Colonials shot 61.5 percent from the field en route to the victory. Kiel Butler paced the Mount with 12 points while Landy Thompson added 11. After hitting 15-of-23 (.652) from the floor in the first half, the Mount made just 8-of-25 (.320) in the second half. After beating Sacred Heart on Dec. 4, the Mount has dropped three straight games at Knott Arena.

ABOUT THE KNIGHTS...Fairleigh Dickinson had its three-game winning streak snapped, 79-75, at Quinnipiac on Wednesday night. Andrea Crosariol recorded career highs of 19 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double, but it wasn't enough to prevent the Knights from their first NEC loss. Gordon Klaiber, who leads FDU in scoring (15.4) and rebounding (8.1), chipped in 15 points and 11 boards in the loss. Tamien Trent, who scored a season-high 27 points vs. Pepperdine, is averaging 15.1 points and a team-high 5.6 assists. Chad Timberlake (14.2 ppg) scored 29 points in FDU's win vs. Wagner earlier this season. Fairleigh Dickinson is averaging 75.3 points per game while hitting 47.1 percent from the field.

Head Coach Milan Brown...Brown enters his second season at the helm of the Mount men's basketball program. In his first season, he guided Mount St. Mary's to its first Northeast Conference tournament appearance in four years. The Mount went 10-19 overall and 8-10 in NEC play on the year. Brown took over for the legendary Jim Phelan, who retired in 2003 after an NCAA record 49 seasons at the Mount.
Up Next...The Mount finishes its three-game homestand vs. Quinnipiac at Knott Arena on Monday night. The Mountaineers then hit the road to face Fairleigh Dickinson (Jan. 22) and Long Island (Jan. 24)

4-0 Start in NEC Denied...The Mount lost to Robert Morris, 80-56, on Wednesday, denying the team its first-ever 4-0 start in NEC play. Since joining the NEC in 1989-90, the Mount has been 3-0 just two times, this year and 1994-95, the year the Mount earned its first NEC Tournament title and an NCAA Tournament bid. The Mount is 9-4 over its past 13 NEC games after producing a 10-37 record in its previous 47 NEC games dating back to the beginning of the 2001-02 season.

Home Not So Sweet...The Mount lost to Robert Morris on Wednesday at Knott Arena, its third-straight home defeat. In those contests, the Mount's opponents are averaging 80.7 ppg and 52.6 percent shooting. The Mount is a -15.7 in scoring margin and a -12.7 in rebound margin over that stretch.

MSM vs. FDU (Jan. 31, 2004)...Fairleigh Dickinson rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to defeat Mount St. Mary's 62-56 on Jan. 31 last year. Gordon Klaiber led the Knights with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Sophomore Landy Thompson paced the Mount with 20 points in the loss. Mount St. Mary's jumped out to a 14-2 lead in the opening 6:28 of the game. The Mount held Fairleigh Dickinson to 1-of-14 shooting from the field over that stretch. After the Knights cut the deficit to 26-22, Chris Sumner and Thompson hit back-to-back three-pointers to give the Mountaineers a 32-22 advantage at the half. Thompson gave the Mount a 43-35 advantage with 11:03 left in the game before the Knights went on a 14-0 run over the next 7:43 to take a 49-43 lead with 4:23 left. Thompson nailed a three-pointer from the top of the key to force overtime. The Knights outscored the Mount, 9-3, in the extra session to surge to the victory. Trent gave Fairleigh Dickinson the lead for good with two free throws 40 seconds into overtime.

MSM vs. FDU (Feb. 14, 2004)... Gordon Klaiber scored 28 points to lead the FDU to a 73-65 win in Teaneck in the second meeting last season. Mount St. Mary's used a 10-0 run in the first half to take a 26-23 lead. The Knights, however, used Tamien Trent's putback at the buzzer to go to the locker room with a 35-34 advantage. The Mount opened the second half with an 8-4 run to take a 42-39 advantage and led 47-45 with 13:00 left after a Charles Cook three-pointer. Fairleigh Dickinson then held the Mount scoreless over the next 5:15, scoring nine straight points to take a 54-47 lead. Trent added 17 points and Chad Timberlake 11 in the win. Kiel Butler led the Mount with 18 points while Nick Dodson had 16.

NEC Player of the Week...Junior guard Landy Thompson earned his second NEC Player of the Week award this season and third of his career after averaging 21.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists in the Mount's three games. Thompson's three NEC Player of the Week awards are the second-most in Mount history behind the seven earned by Chris McGuthrie. He was instrumental in wins over Central Connecticut and Sacred Heart. Thompson scored 18 points, including the game-winning basket with 6.6 seconds left, in the Mount's 64-63 win over CCSU. In the following game vs. Sacred Heart, Thompson scored 12 of the Mount's final 14 points, including two clutch three-pointers in the final minutes, to propel the Mount to the victory.

Non-Conference Play...The Mount finished non-conference play with a 2-7 record. Since joining NCAA Division I, the Mount owns a 45-96 (.319) mark in non-conference action, including a 14-67 (.173) record on the road. The Mount is 26-22 (.542) at home and 5-7 (.417) at neutral sites in non-conference games all-time in NCAA Division I.

Close Calls..The Mount beat Central Connecticut 64-63 on Jan. 6 to improve to 1-1 in games decided by five points or less. Here is a breakdown of the Mount's recent history in close games...

The Mount in the NEC...The Mount joined the NEC in 1989. Here are some Mount NEC notes...
* The Mount has posted a 127-146 record since joining the Northeast Conference. During that time, the Mount has won two NEC titles, advancing to the NCAA Tournament in 1995 and 1999.
* The Mountaineers are 75-61 at home in NEC regular season games and have a 52-85 mark in NEC regular season road games. The Mount is 11-8 in the NEC Tournament.
* The Mount finished 8-10 in the NEC last year, the most league wins since going 10-10 in 1998-99.
* The Mount has won its past four NEC road games after posting a 3-30 mark in NEC road games over the previous 33 games.

Thompson Comes Through in the Clutch...Junior guard Landy Thompson made several clutch baskets in the Mount's wins over Central Connecticut State and Sacred Heart this past weekend. Thompson hit a three-pointer with 24 seconds left to cut CCSU's lead to 63-62. After a turnover, the 6-1 guard drilled a jumper with 6.6 seconds left to provide the Mount with the 64-63 win. Against Sacred Heart, Thompson scored 12 of the Mount's final 14 points, including a pair of clutch threes. He nailed a trey with 1:40 left and just one second on the shot clock to give the Mount a 60-56 advantage. After a Pioneer basket, Thompson then nailed a three-pointer from the left corner to give the Mount a five-point edge with 1:00 on the clock.

Welcome to the Club...Junior Landy Thompson became the 37th Mountaineer to reach 1,000 career points when he drained a fall-away three-pointer with 11:20 left in the first half of the Mount's loss at George Washington on Dec. 1. Thompson now has 1,154 points in 69 career games. He has moved from 41st to 27th on the Mount's all-time scoring list just this season.
* The last Mount player to reach 1,000 career points was Gregory Harris who achieved the feat on Jan. 7, 1999, with a 20-point game at Robert Morris
* Thompson has scored 1,154 career points in 69 games for a career scoring average of 16.7, seventh on the Mount's all-time list.
* With 512 points last year, he became the first Mount player to reach the 500-point plateau in a single season since Harris achieved the feat during the 1998-99 year.
* Thompson scored 34 points in the Mount's win over Longwood, the fifth time in his career he has scored 30+ points in a game.
* A starter in all 69 games since joining the Mount, Thompson has scored in double figures 58 times and has 20 20+-point performances.
* With 172 career three-pointers, he is fifth in that category all-time at the Mount.

Bench Press...The Mount bench has been a key for the offense this year, chipping in 26.4 points per game, including 33.7 ppg over the past six games. The top bench scorers are junior Antonio Johnson who is second on the team at 9.4 ppg while Charles Cook is averaging 8.9 points per game.

Injury Report...Injuries have been a factor for the Mount this season, especially in the front court. Freshmen Joe Gates (wrist) and Markus Mitchell (calf) have missed the entire season while senior Jason Epps missed five games with a separated shoulder. Junior guard Antonio Johnson missed the Robert Morris game with a broken tailbone and he is out of action at least two weeks. The injury bug even hit the radio crew as color analyst Roy Sigler missed the Loyola game after minor surgery.

This Date in Mount Basketball History (Jan. 12)...The Mount downed Long Island, 110-92, in a record-setting game on Jan. 15, 1994. Randy Edney set the school record with 11 blocks while Riley Inge dished out 13 assists, the sixth-best single-game mark at the Mount. In addition, the Mount also set a team record with 14 blocks in that contest.

On the Boards...Rebounding has been a problem for the Mount as it has been outrebounded in six of the past seven games. In that stretch, opponents have grabbed 10.0 more rebounds per game than the Mount. That includes 83 offensive rebounds that have produced 109 second-chance points.

Field Goal Percentage...Field goal percentage has been a telling statistic this season. The Mount is 5-0 when having a higher field goal percentage that the opponent and 0-8 when the opponent has shot a better percentage from the field.

Wins vs. Losses...The Mount is holding its opponents to 58.2 points per game and 39.2 percent shooting in its five wins this season. In those games, Landy Thompson is averaging 24.0 points per game while hitting 52.9 percent from the field and 52.3 percent from three-point range. In the eight losses, the Mount is allowing 77.9 points per game and 51.8 percent shooting from the field. Thompson is averaging 12.6 points in those games, hitting 35.8 percent from the field and 30.2 percent from three-point range.

Free Throws...In the Mount's five wins this year, the team has hit 74.3 percent from the charity stripe, but in the team's eight losses, the Mount is shooting just 55.9 percent at the foul line. Junior Landy Thompson has hit 25-of-31 (.806) from the charity stripe in the wins and just 9-of-23 (.391) from the line in the losses.

Chipping In...Junior Antonio Johnson has been one of the Mount's top offensive players in recent weeks, averaging 11.2 points while hitting 47.3 percent from the floor over the past six games. Johnson has scored in double figures four times this year, including a season-high 17-point effort in the Mount's loss to La Salle. After hitting just 5-of-14 (.357) at the foul line to start the year, Johnson has made five straight free throws.

Charity Work...Sophomore Mychal Kearse has converted 21-of-26 (.808) from the foul line after starting the season 1-for-8 (.125) from the charity stripe. On the year, Kearse is now 22-of-34 (.647) at the foul line. The 6-4 guard is 10-for-19 (.526) from the field including 2-of-4 (.500) from three-point range over the past four games. On the year, Kearse is shooting 34.5 percent and is 2-of-12 (.167) from beyond the arc.

Mr. Won-DURR-ful...Sophomore Gus Durr will be disappointed the Mount does not face Sacred Heart again this season. Durr scored a career-best 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting in the Mount's 67-60 win over the Pioneers on Saturday, besting his previous career high of eight points set vs. Sacred Heart in December. Durr is averaging 7.3 points over the past three games while hitting 10-of-15 (.667) from the field.

Post Shutout...In the four games after being held scoreless for the only time in his collegiate career vs. La Salle, junior Landy Thompson is averaging 18.5 points while hitting 16-of-35 (.457) from three-point range. Thompson scored 20 points vs. Maryland, 18 vs. CCSU, 25 vs. Sacred Heart and 11 vs. Robert Morris.

Dishing the Rock...Junior Chris Sumner leads the Mount with 40 assists this season. The 6-1 junior had recorded three games with five or more assists this season and now has 25 in his career at the Mount.

The Butler Did It...Junior Kiel Butler is averaging 11.7 points over the past three games while hitting 10-of-19 (.526) from the floor and 13-of-17 (.765) at the charity stripe. Butler has scored in double figures five times this year with the Mount posting wins in three of those games.

Return of Jason...Senior Jason Carbone has provided steady minutes for the Mount this season. The 6-6 forward had seven points and tied a career high with six boards in the Mount's win over Sacred Heart on Jan. 8. Carbone is averaging 3.6 points and 1.8 rebounds in 16.2 minutes per game this season. He has 47 points and 23 rebounds in 210 minutes this year after posting 111 points and 28 boards in 327 minutes over the past three years combined.

Cooking with Charles...Junior Charles Cook is averaging 8.9 points per game this year for the Mount. Cook is second on the team with 22 three-point field goals and is shooting 37.3 percent from long distance on the season. Cook dished out a season-high four assists in the Mount's win at Sacred Heart on Jan. 8.

Epps in the Lineup...Senior Jason Epps has returned from a separated shoulder and has started the past three games. The 6-8 forward from Atlanta, Ga., is averaging 2.9 points and 2.8 rebounds in 15.6 minutes per game this season.

The Man in the Middle...Freshman Jason Loughry has started the past four games and has appeared in all 13 games this season. Loughry leads the Mount with nine blocks, including at least one in each of the past six games. He is averaging 1.3 points and 2.0 rebounds on the season.

Brotherly Love...Junior guard Landy Thompson squared off against his older brother, T.J., when the Mount met the George Washington on Dec. 1. T.J. got the best of the matchup, outscoring Landy 16 to 12 and leading his team to an 81-58 victory. The brothers are the nation's top brother combination with both players active. Oklahoma State's brother combination of Joey and Stephen Graham are second on the list. The all-time leaders in scoring for brother combinations are the Tripuckas (Tracy, Todd, T.K. and Kelly) with 5,632. The top brother tandem is the Birds (Larry and Eddie) with 4,405 points.

Cousins...Junior Antonio Johnson faced his cousin, John Gilchrist, in the Mount's 85-53 loss to Maryland. Gilchrist had 17 points in the game while Johnson recorded eight points and eight boards.

The Cupboard's Not Empty...Head coach Milan Brown has four starters and seven of his top eight scorers returning from last year's team. In all, 84.2 percent of the scoring, 82.3 percent of the rebounding, 92.0 percent of assists and 86.5 percent of minutes played are returning this season.

Familiar Faces...With the addition of freshman center Jason Loughry, the Mount now has three players from Archbishop Spalding High School in Baltimore. Junior guard Landy Thompson and sophomore forward Gus Durr also were Spalding graduates. Junior Antonio Johnson and freshman Markus Mitchell each played at Salem High School in Virginia Beach, Va.

Preseason Prognostications...Mount junior guard Landy Thompson was selected to the Preseason All-Northeast Conference team by the league's coaches. Joining Thompson on the team are Blake Hamilton (Monmouth), Darshan Luckey (St. Francis-Pa.), Chaz McCrommon (Robert Morris) and Gordon Klaiber (FDU).

More Preseason Picks...The Northeast Conference coaches have selected the Mount to finish sixth in the Annual Preseason Coaches Poll. Defending champion Monmouth is the preseason favorite, followed by Fairleigh Dickinson, Robert Morris, St. Francis (Pa.), Central Connecticut State, Mount St. Mary's, St. Francis (N.Y.), Quinnipiac, Wagner, Sacred Heart and Wagner.

Overtime, Again!...The Mount, which played in a school-record five overtime games last year, opened the 2004-05 season with a 66-65 overtime loss to Morehead State. Head coach Milan Brown has seen his team go to overtime in six of his first 42 games. By comparison, legendary coach Jim Phelan took 188 games to reach six overtime contests.

Big Win...The Mount's 23-point win over Longwood on Nov. 20 was the team's largest margin of victory since a 69-42 win over Columbia on Dec. 9, 1997. It was the Mount's first 20-point victory since a 77-56 win over Robert Morris on Feb. 26, 1997, a span of 173 games.

Youth Will Be Served...The Mount and Lehigh have the youngest coaching staffs in the country. Entering the 2004-05 season, the average age of the Mount's four coaches is 29.0 years. Head coach Milan Brown turned 34 on New Year's day. Assistant coaches Brion Dunlap (28), Tyrone Perry (28) and Kevin Robinson, Jr. (27) are all under 30 years of age.

Good Things Come in Small Packages...With an enrollment of 1,461, Mount St. Mary's is the fourth-smallest NCAA Division I school. Only Centenary, Virginia Military Institute, and Wofford are smaller. The Mount is also the second-oldest independent Catholic university in the nation. The institute opened its doors in 1808 when it welcomed its first male students. The college first admitted women in 1972.

More on Thompson...Junior guard Landy Thompson needs nine assists and three steals to become just the fourth Mountaineer to record 1,000 points, 200 rebounds, 200 assists, 100 steals and 150 three-point field goals in their career. The list includes...

Kevin Booth (1988-2003)
1,742 points, 264 rebs., 275 ast, 116 stl, 265 3fg's
Gregory Harris (1996-00)
1,760 points, 615 rebs., 529 ast., 205 stl, 218 3fg's
Chris McGuthrie (1993-97)
2,297 points, 307 rebs, 426 ast, 202 stl, 300 3fg's
Landy Thompson (2002-)
1,154 points, 266 rebs., 191 ast., 97 stls, 170 3fg's