Despite freshman’s effort, Mount St. Mary’s falls at VCU in Saturday showdown

Freshman Dakota Leffew scored 14 points for Mount St. Mary’s men’s basketball team, but the Mountaineers dropped a non-conference clash with VCU on Saturday afternoon, 60-42.

The Mount (1-3) played in Richmond without leading scorer Jalen Gibbs, who missed the game with an injury. The Rams took control of the game with a 23-2 run toward the end of the first half.

Leffew was 5 for 7 shooting and hit three 3-pointers for MSM. Nana Opoku added seven points and six rebounds during his career-high scoring performance. Mezie Offurum and Damian Chong Qui each had six points for the Mountaineers. Nah’shon Hyland led VCU (3-2) with 14 points.

The Mount also had a season-high 23 turnovers in the game, leading to 26 VCU points. Mount St. Mary’s is back in action Tuesday night at 7 when Saint Francis U visits Knott Arena for the Northeast Conference opener for both teams.