EMMITSBURG - It occasionally looked as if St. Francis Brooklyn was running a layup drill during its game at Mount St. Mary's on Saturday.
The Terriers shot better than 50 percent from the field with a whopping 62 points in the paint during the decidedly up-tempo Northeast Conference contest.
But that's not their style. They're a defensive-oriented team that likes a slower pace.
The host Mountaineers are far better suited to the running and pressing that went on Saturday at Knott Arena and the Mount never trailed, winning 88-82.
"The biggest thing today was we got them to play our tempo," said MSM coach Jamion Christian. "They're a great defensive team, but we have great offensive players."
Senior Julian Norfleet continued his hot play with 24 points, classmate Rashad Whack added 18 and freshman Byron Ashe came off the bench to score a career-high 16 as the Mount scored 88 against the NEC leaders in scoring defense, who came in allowing only 64 points per game.
The Mountaineers (5-10, 1-1 NEC) are averaging 84.4 points over their past five games. Despite allowing 84, 85 and 82 point in the past three games, the Mount has won two of them and Norfleet is a big part of the reason why. He has averaged 26.3 points in those three games while continuing to distribute as the point guard, with 22 assists over that span.
"Last year, when I came into the [point guard] role, my mind-set was just to not turn the ball over," he said. "I was just trying to make sure I ran the offense and got guys shots. This year my role in the offense is to be a scorer - and still get guys shots."
Terriers forward Jalen Cannon had game highs with 25 points and 11 rebounds as St. Francis (10-7, 1-1) outrebounded the Mount 42-28.
But MSM forced 16 turnovers - generating 18 points off of turnovers - and hit eight 3-pointers while also driving to the basket at every opportunity, often getting fouled and finishing 20 for 23 from the line.
And the Mountaineers continued to push the tempo even with a double-digit lead, refusing to go conservative.
"Our guys did a great job tonight of continuing to attack, continuing to trap and just make the game a track meet," Christian said. "Because we have track athletes."
Christian challenged the Mountaineers in the locker room Thursday night following their 85-79 loss at Fairleigh Dickinson to open NEC play, asking them to be tougher and to be mature enough to play their best basketball.
They accepted that challenge from the outset on Saturday, making their first six shots to take leads of 7-0 and 14-4.
They were up 26-14 midway through the first half after Ashe scored on a drive during a three-minute stretch when he scored seven of the Mount's 10 points.
St. Francis went on a run and pulled within 36-35, with the ball, late in the half, but the Mountaineers scored the final five points before halftime. Then, Norfleet scored 12 of his points over the first seven minutes of the second half, pounding his chest after swishing a 3-pointer that pushed the Mount's advantage to 57-46 and forced St. Francis into a timeout.
The Mount led by as many as 14, but the Terriers were never out of it and they were within five points, with three chances to get closer, before Ashe scored on a fastbreak. He buried a 3-pointer from the left wing on MSM's next possession to re-establish MSM's double-digit lead with 3:55 remaining. Ashe finished 7 for 10 from the field and had an assist and a blocked shot while playing solid defense.
"I always knew coach had confidence in me, it's just a matter of me having confidence in myself," he said. "At first, I thought I was just a spot-up shooter, just stand in the corner, but eventually coach talked to me and was like, 'We need more from you.'"
Christian hopes to keep getting more - as in more points - from everyone.
"I love scoring the ball," the coach said. "I think it's easier to hold other teams to 70 or 75 than it is to 50 or 60, so if we can put an offensive team out there that's capable of scoring a lot of points, it obviously makes our defensive roles a lot easier."
