EMMITSBURG -- Jean Cajou began putting in extra time working on his inconsistent shooting about a month ago. The Mount St. Mary's freshman started coming to the gym on his own, often taking 140 or more shots on a daily basis.
The work has paid off handsomely as Cajou has gone on a late-season hot streak to boost the Mount. Last night he scored a team-high 21 points to lead the Mountaineers to an 80-70 victory over Quinnipiac in a Northeast Conference quarterfinal at the Knott Arena.
The fourth-seeded Mount (16-14) will go to top-seeded Robert Morris for a semifinal Sunday. Last night's victory clinched the Mount's first winning season since 1996-97 and it was the team's first home playoff win since March 1996.
Cajou played a big role as his outside shooting continued to improve. In the three previous games, the freshman scored 13, 18 and a career-high 27.
That continued last night as he again came off the bench to shoot 5-for-11 from the field, including 2-for-6 on three-pointers. His two three-pointers in a little over a minute sparked a 17-0 first-half run that gave the Mount the lead for good.
"The early part of the season, I was struggling a little bit," Cajou said. "I'm playing with a little bit more confidence. I have confidence ... and my [teammates] have got confidence that I'm going to knock it down."
Cajou has made 25 of 37 (.676) from the field and 12 of 19 three-pointers (.532) in the past four games. He also helped the Mount's 9-1 and 13-0 runs that helped it hold off Qunnipiac (15-15) rallies. The Bobcats hurt their own cause by missing 11 straight shots during the 13-point Mount run.
Jeremy Goode and Kelly Beidler both added 15 points for the Mount while Chris Vann, the team's top scorer entering the game, finished with 11 despite missing nearly half the game with foul trouble.
"I'm really excited for our guys," said Mount coach Milan Brown. "But we feel we have some work left to do. We'll get back to work tomorrow."
The Mount also did a good job of slowing Quinnipiac guard DeMario Anderson, the NEC's top scorer.
QUINNIPIAC-Rutty 2-4 1-2 5, K.Anderson 2-7 3-7 7, D.Anderson 7-17 7-9 21, Cosgrove 5-7 0-0 12, Feldeine 5-9 0-1 11, Geffen 3-8 0-0 8, E.Baker 2-5 2-2 6, Robinson 0-0 0-0 0, Zajac 0-4 0-0 0, Cashin 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 26-63 13-21 70. MOUNT ST. MARY'S-Sa.Atupem 4-9 1-1 9, Mitchell 1-2 0-0 2, Goode 3-11 8-12 15, Vann 4-7 2-2 11, Holland 1-3 2-2 4, Cajou 5-11 8-11 20, Beidler 5-9 3-8 15, Sh.Atupem 2-4 0-3 4. Totals 25-56 24-39 80. Half-Mount St. Mary's, 37-33. 3-point goals-Quinnipiac 5-13 (Geffen 2-4, Cosgrove 2-4, Feldeine 1-2, D.Anderson 0-1, Cashin 0-2), Mount St. Mary's 6-21 (Beidler 2-4, Cajou 2-6, Vann 1-4, Goode 1-5, Holland 0-2). Fouled out-E.Baker, Rutty. Rebounds-Quinnipiac 41 (Feldeine 8), Mount St. Mary's 37 (Sa.Atupem 9). Assists-Quinnipiac 10 (D.Anderson 5), Mount St. Mary's 16 (Goode 5). Total fouls-Quinnipiac 29, Mount St. Mary's 21. A-1,670.