For the Mount, it’s all on the line
Conference title, NCAA tournament trip at stake tonight vs. Saint Francis
Mount St. Mary’s is hosting the Northeast Conference tournament final tonight, and it’s probably the biggest men’s basketball game to take place at Knott Arena.
The tiny gymnasium opened in 1987, across U.S. 15 from the rest of the Emmitsburg campus. The Mount hosted Maryland on Dec. 8 i n perhaps t he marquee matchup that season, the only time the Terps have made the trip to Mount St. Mary’s.
Sixteen years later, coach Jim Phelan retired after the Mountaineers’ final game in 2003, and a sellout crowd watched Mount St. Mary’s beat Central Connecticut State to send its legendary coach out with 830 career wins.
That’s the short list for big-time games played at Knott Arena, but the list grows tonight.
The Mount, playing in a home NEC championship game for the first time, can claim its fifth conference tournament crown — and earn a trip to the NCAA tournament that comes with it. But first, the Mountaineers (18-15) have to defeat Saint Francis (16-15) for a third time this season.
“It’s going to be just exactly the same game as the other games we’ve had here,” Tonight, 7 TV: ESPN2 Elijah Long attempts a layup during Mount St. Mary’s semifinal victory Saturday over Robert Morris. The Mountaineers are playing in a home NEC championship game for the first time. said sophomore guard Elijah Long (John Carroll), Mount St. Mary’s leading scorer at 15.2 points per game “Obviously we’re blessed about that ... thank God that that happened, but after that just focus on the game. It’s just a game.”
Long scored 22 points, a game high, in the NEC semifinal victory Saturday over Robert Morris, 75-66. He had 19 points in the quarterfinal victory over Sacred Heart.
The All-NEC first-team pick had 21 and 25 in the Mount’s games against Saint Francis, so he’s the likely focal point for the Red Flash’s defense. But Mount St. Mary’s has been succeeding with more than just Long.
Junior Robinson, a junior guard and second-team all-conference selection, is scoring 20 points per game in the NEC tournament. When the Mountaineers needed someone to make crucial free