Buffalo, NY- The Mount Aloysius Men's Basketball team traveled to Buffalo, NY on Saturday to take on Medaille College in the AMCC game of the week. While both teams had already qualified for the post-season, the game would go a long way to setting the final seeds for the AMCC tournament. The winner would lock up the 3rd position while the loser of the game would await the outcome of another conference game to see if they would finish in 4th and host a playoff game, or travel to D'Youville.

The Mounties started with a bang as they quickly built a 9 point lead within the first 5 minutes of play. They hit three three pointers on three consecutive possessions to build the lead. Julian Stover (Washington, DC/Richard Montgomery) hit the first and Trent McErlane (Greenville,PA/Greenville) hit the second two. After allowing the Mavericks to move withing 5, the Mounties went on a 4 minute and 30 second run that saw them score 15 unanswered points. The Mounties shared the burden on the scoring streak as Stover scored 5, Carlos Palacio (Bilbao, Spain/Phelps School) scored 6 and Imrane Amadou (Cotonou, Benin) opened and closed the run with layups. Medaille would answer, and quickly. They countered with 19 unanswered points of their own to turn the 20 point deficit into only 1. Two free throws from Nate Christian (Accokeek, MD/Surratsville/Hood) and another Palacio three saw the Mounties go up 6, but a last second layup from Medaille set the halftime lead at 4 points. 

Things did not change after the halftime break, as Medaille saw continued success that saw them turn the 4 point halftime deficit into a 9 point lead with 15 minutes to go. The Mounties would slowly chip away at the deficit over the following 10 minutes. Carlos Palacio scored 15 points in those 10 minutes, hitting a jumper with 4 minutes to go to give the Mounties the lead. The teams traded baskets and found themselves tied at 66 with 1:45 to go. After a Christian basket saw the Mounties take a 2 point lead, the Mavericks were able to convert a three point play with just 16 seconds to go. Down 1, Stover was fouled with 7 seconds left and hit both free throws. The Mounties were unable to hold the late lead, as Medaille again ended the half on a buzzer beating lay-up, this time giving them the 1 point victory. 

Palacio finished the game with a career high 28 points. He shot 66% from the field, including hitting 4 of 5 from beyond the arc. Imrane Amadou recorded his 5th double double of the season, scoring 11 points and hauling in 12 rebounds. Christian and Stover also finished in double figures, as Christian scored 11 and Stover scored 10. 

With the loss, the Mounties finish the season with a 13-12 record with a 10-8 record in conference play. After losing at the buzzer, the Mounties got some help across town, as Franciscan defeated D'Youville to give the Mounties the 4th seed in the conference's post-season tournament. With the 4 seed, the Mounties will host their first home playoff game in program history. They will take on D'Youville on Wednesday with the game tipping off at 7:00 PM. The Mounties and Spartans split their two regular season games, with the home team emerging victorious in each. On January 12th, Mount Aloysius was able to withstand a late D'Youville run to win 65-62. A few weeks later, The Mounties fell in Buffalo by a score of 63-75. Mount Aloysius is 9-2 in the ACWC this season.