Knox Scores Career-High 21 Points in Loss

CRESSON, Pa. -- Host Mount Aloysius College withstood a late second-half rally by visiting Washington College to post a 72-68 men's basketball win in the opening round of the Division III Hampton Inn Coaches vs. Cancer Classic tonight in Cresson, Pa. The game was the season opener for both teams. 

The Mounties scored the final seven points of the first half to take a 44-33 lead into halftime. Mount Aloysius took its biggest lead of the game when a Dillon Bender jumper extended the Mounties' advantage to 52-33 with 17:19 remaining in the second half. 

The Mounties led by 13 points with under eight minutes play before a 7-0 spurt by the Shoremen, capped off by a lay-up by sophomore guard James Drury (Jenkintown, Pa./Germantown Academy) with 6:44 to go, trimmed the lead to 64-58. That spurt was part of a larger 15-2 run by Washington as the Shoremen evened the score at 66-66 on a three-pointer by junior forward Dave Knox (Warrington, Pa./Central Bucks South) with 3:28 remaining. 

Tanner Thomas and Knox then traded 1-for-2 trips to the foul line and the score was tied at 67-67 when Bender went to the line and sunk a pair of free throws with 1:19 left to give the Mounties the lead for good at 69-67. Knox went 1-for-2 at the line for Washington with 1:03 to play, cutting the margin to one point. He missed the second of those two free throws, but sophomore guard Bryan Shapiro (Bala Cynwyd, Pa./Lower Merion) secure the offensive rebound. Knox had a driving lay-up blocked by Drew Knowles with 41 seconds left and Knowles grabbed the board. Bender was fouled with 16 seconds left and made both free throws to increase the lead to 71-68.  Senior guard Sean Brooks (North Wales, Pa./North Penn) misfired on a potential game-tying three-pointer for the Shoremen with two seconds to go. Nolan Doyle then went to the line and made one of two free throws for the Mounties to seal the win and provide the final margin.

Thomas and Knox tied for game-high scoring honors with 21 points each. Thomas was 8-for-10 from the field and also brought down a game-high 14 rebounds. Doyle added 13 points, while Bender had 12 points and seven boards. Arin Wade chipped in 10 points and four assists for the Mounties.

Knox's 21 points were a career-high. He also had a team- and career-best 13 rebounds, eight of them on the offensive end. Brooks was the only other Shoreman to finish in doubles figures in scoring with 16 points. Senior guard John Weston (Tampa, Fla./Bolles School) added nine points and four assists. 

Mount Aloysius shot 52% from the field in the game to the Shoremen's 33% and held a commanding 49-36 advantage on the boards. The Shoremen stayed in the game in part by committing just five turnovers to the Mounties' 18.

The Shoremen will play Juniata College tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. in the consolation game of the tournament. Mount Aloysius will play Penn State-Altoona in the championship game at 3:00 p.m.