Mount St. Mary's took two of three against top-tier Northeast Conference teams on a recent homestand.
That wasn't a surprise. The Mountaineers are 15-4 at Knott Arena during coach Jamion Christian's tenure and are playing to a .680 winning percentage in their past 72 home games (49-23).
After wins against preseason conference favorite Wagner and St. Francis Brooklyn, as well as a loss on Saturday to NEC-leading Robert Morris, the Mountaineers (6-11, 2-2 NEC) hit the road for league games at St. Francis (Pa.) tonight and LIU Brooklyn Saturday.
"We've proven we can win games here at home," Christian said last week. "We've got to prove we can win games on the road and that we can get teams to our tempo on the road."
It's still relatively early in the conference schedule - 12 league games remain - but Christian knows Saturday was a missed opportunity.
Had the Mountaineers won, they'd be tied for first. Because they lost, they're tied for fifth, two games behind RM. Christian was already thinking ahead to the NEC tournament, noting that "The NEC is going to be up in the air ... seeding is going to be extremely important."
The Mountaineers led the Colonials 35-29 at halftime but struggled in the second half and fell 77-69 after playing quite well in winning their two previous games.
"We need to learn how to handle winning a lot better. And that starts with me," Christian said. "Maybe it's time for me to get a little bit tougher, especially in practice the day before [a game]."
Still, Christian was somewhat satisfied with taking two of three at home and he seemed eager to see how his team would respond to a hostile environment. The Mountaineers lost their only previous NEC road game at Fairleigh Dickinson and are 1-9 overall on the road this season.
