Mount St. Mary’s will be playing in the Northeast Conference tournament next week, but the Mountaineers still have work to go if they want to enjoy some home games at Knott Arena.
A win over Robert Morris on Thursday ensures the Mount (16-13, 10-6 NEC) a home playoff game. If the Mountaineers beat Wagner (20-7, 13-3) on Saturday, they'll finish in second place in the conference standings.
There’s a three-way tie for second place, however, with Saint Francis U (16-13) and St. Francis Brooklyn (13-15) both at 10-6 in the NEC. Robert Morris (15-14) is one game back at 9-7.
The top four seeds in the conference tourney host quarterfinal games when the tournament begins Feb. 28.
“They have a high achievement level,” coach Jamion Christian said about his bunch. “We’re really treating this week like a tournament week … it’s going to be two really intense games for us.”
The Mount can post a regular-season series sweep against the Colonials with a win Thursday. MSM traveled to Moon Township, Pa., back on Feb. 1 and dominated the home team from the start — the Mountaineers led 33-4 in the first half and rolled 67-42, at the time moving into a tie for second place in the NEC.
They won two more conference games after that, but proceeded to drop two in a row — one coming against two-win Bryant, the other a rare home defeat against Fairleigh Dickinson — before beating Sacred Heart on the road last Saturday.
Last season, Mount St. Mary’s earned the NEC tournament’s top seed by finishing first in the regular season, then won three games at home to secure the program’s fifth title and a berth into the NCAA tourney.
The Mount seems confident it has a good chance to defend its title this year.
Offense is leading the way for Christian’s squad, the youngest in the nation with nine true freshmen, and Junior Robinson is the showcase player. The senior guard leads the conference in scoring at 22.6 points per game, and three of his five 30-point games have come within the past two weeks. He also averages 4.8 assists, second best in the NEC.
Robinson’s career point total stands at 1,824, good for fifth all-time in Mount St. Mary’s history. The 5-foot-5 guard is 15 points away from moving into fourth place, and Robinson stands a good chance at finishing his MSM career at No. 3.
His 655 points this season is a Mount record for its Division I years (since 1988-89). He recently joined the midseason watch list for the Lou Henson Award, given by collegeinsider.com to the top D-I player from a mid-major conference.
The Mount feature more than just Robinson, of course.
Jonah Antonio, a redshirt freshman from Australia, is averaging 11.7 points, freshman guard Donald Carey is at 9.1 points and 3.6 assists, and senior Chris Wray averages 9.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 3.8 assists.
Antonio needs three 3-pointers to break the conference mark for treys made by a freshman — Antonio has 85 triples — and the Mount has 297 3s this season, a new program record.
LIU Brooklyn owns the Northeast Conference record for 3-pointers made in a season (1997-98) with 310.
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Robert Morris has lost five of its last seven games heading into Thursday’s tilt in Emmitsburg. The Colonials feature Dachon Burke, a sophomore guard who scores 17.9 points per game, and freshman forward Koby Thomas at 12.6 ppg.
