EMMITSBURG -- In the end, Rider simply missed Deon Hames too much.
Without their all-Northeast Conference point guard, the Broncs couldn't handle the heat of Chris McGuthrie in the stretch last night and Mount St. Mary's pulled out a 64-58 NEC victory before 3,185 raucous fans at Knott Arena.
It was a vital victory for the Mountaineers (13-11, 11-5), who now trail league leader Rider by one game and second-place Marist by a half-game.
McGuthrie scored 33 points for Mount St. Mary's, including the three-pointer that put Mount up for good at 59-56.
That outburst contrasted sharply to what happened in the first meeting at Rider on Jan. 28 when Hames matched up with McGuthrie and held the Mount's leading scorer to eight shots and nine points.
"We were very fortunate to get out of here with that game," said Mount coach Jim Phelan. "There was a world of difference without Hames in there for them. We would have been in serious, serious trouble tonight if he had played."
Hames injured his right knee in Rider's victory Thursday night over Wagner and was in street clothes on the bench. The Broncs weren't sure until just before the game if he would be available because the extent of the injury is still not known.
In the first meeting, Hames not only handcuffed McGuthrie, but also scored 28 points and amassed five assists.
Broncs coach Kevin Bannon was proud of his team for hanging tough without its leader.
"We struggled without him in the first half, then the kids kind of rallied and came together," said Bannon "But everybody knows what he means to us overall. He makes everybody so much better and he's had such a consistent year."
With Marist losing, Rider (15-9, 12-4) retained first place by a half-game, but has two tough road games ahead, at Marist and Fairleigh Dickinson, two of the four contenders for the regular-season crown.
Without Hames, it won't be easy.
Meanwhile, the Mountaineers also visit the same two schools. That's why Phelan considered last night's game so important because "winning both of them will be very, very difficult."
With smooth Charles Smith (18 points) leading the way, Rider regrouped after trailing by six at halftime and captured a 55-51 advantage on a Smith three-pointer with 4:58 remaining.
But less than two minutes later, Riley Inge tied the score at 56 with a jumper in the lane.
After Smith missed a three, he blocked a shot by 7-foot Mount center Randy Edney. However, McGuthrie came up with the TTC carom and drilled a three-pointer and from that point on, Rider got a little rattled without Hames.
McGuthrie hit two free throws for a 63-56 lead, and it was all over except for the storming of the court by the student body.
"I felt my shot was pretty much there so I kept shooting," said McGuthrie. "I thought I should have a say in whether we won or lost.
"They were a lot different without Hames. I didn't really care about my showing up there. If I had stayed too upset too long about that it would have slowed me down. Anger can only carry you so far."
Bannon said it simply came down to the Mounts connecting on the key shots in the clutch.
"I'm proud that we battled and made it into a war," he said. "Then they [Mount St. Mary's] did what they had to to win the war."
After its fifth game in 10 days, Mount St. Mary's finished the regular season at home with a 9-3 record, including just one upset loss -- to Wagner -- in the league.
The victory probably guarantees Mount at least one home game in the conference tournament.