CRESSON, Pa.  – After building a 51-39 half time advantage, the Hilbert College men's basketball team dropped a one-point heart-breaking loss at Mount Aloysius College this afternoon in Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference action.
 
The Mounties reversed their fortune in the second half to secure the 89-88 win.

THE BASICS              

• Final Score: Mount Aloysius 89  |  Hilbert  88
• Location: Convocation & Wellness Center, Cresson, Pa.
• Records: I  Mounties  3-11, 1-5  AMCC | Hawks 5-11, 1-6 AMCC 

HIGHLIGHTS
 

• Shaheem Ellis led three Hilbert players in double figure scoring.  The freshman guard knocked down four 3-point shots, shared team-high honors in rebounds (7) and scored 24 points for the third time in his young career.
• Another rookie guard, Quran Briggs returned to action and chipped in 20 points hitting both 3-pointers and swiped two steals in 34 minutes.
• Shawn Gashi also returned to action and tossed in 16 points off the bench hitting 4-of-7 from the floor and 6-of-8 at the charity stripe.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 

• The Hawks never trailed in the opening half of action though the Mounties kept it close the first six minutes of play. 
• Hilbert benefited from a 10-0 run which was finished by a pair of three's by Ellis and Zach Miller to post their first double figure lead (26-15) at 12:16.
• The Hawks stretched it to a 16-point spread (50-34) with 3:38 but only scored one free throw the final three and a half minutes before the break.
• Mount Aloysius sliced into the 51-39 half time score quickly after intermission.  The Mounties scored 10-unanswered points and made it a one possession game (51-49) at 18:31.
• The Hawks held onto their lead for the next three minutes until the Mounties scored back-to-back buckets in the lane and then continued their run from there.
• The Hawks found themselves down 72-63 (11:02) in large part due to missed offensive opportunities and transition defensive which gave up fastbreak scores in the paint.
• Eric Jackson, Edward Perez and Briggs willed the Hawks back into the game combining in the 11-2 run which knotted the score at 74-all with 7:33 to go.
• The Hawks went 3-for-7 from the floor and 4-for-8 at the charity stripe down the stretch before Ellis knocked down all three free throws with 2:10 remaining.
• The Mounties missed a jumper, Jahmel Demery secured the defensive rebound and Hilbert turned the ball over after a quick timeout with 1:14 left in regulation.
• Aloysius went 9-for-13 from the foul line the final seven minutes to secure the win.

 
GAME NOTES

• The Hawks bench outscored the Mounties (31-18) though Mount Aloysius did most of their damage in the paint, outscoring Hilbert 54-32.
• Hilbert finished the game hitting 46.2-percent from the field, 60-percent from deep (9-of-15) and 70-percent from the line.
• Mount Aloysius fared better from the floor, hitting 53-percent of their field goal attempts, but only 31-percent from deep as they found room the paint for easy buckets.  The Mounties went 14-for-20 at the charity stripe (70%).
• Carols Palacio tossed in 30 points, hitting 11-of-18 from the floor while grabbing 12 rebounds for Mt. Aloysius.

WHAT'S NEXT

Hilbert has a mid-week bye in the AMCC schedule so they have a week to prepare for their next game in the Hafner against Pitt-Greensburg January 22 with a 3pm tip.