In Dayton, Ohio, Mount St. Mary’s basketball team pulled off an impressive victory against American University, winning 83-72 in the NCAA Tournament’s First Four matchup between No. 16 seeds. Dola Adebayo and Jedy Cordilla each contributed 22 points to secure the win for the Mountaineers, who are now set to face the top-seeded Duke in Raleigh, North Carolina.
American’s team, despite the loss, saw notable performances, particularly from Geoff Sprouse, who scored 18 points with six 3-pointers off the bench. Elijah Stephens added 12 points to the total. However, the game took a tough turn for American when leading scorer Matt Rogers injured his right knee just four minutes into the first half. Although he tried to play through the discomfort, he was ultimately unable to continue and ended the game with seven points.
Both teams showed strong shooting skills early on, with each making over 60% of their shots in the first ten minutes. Dallas Hobbs made a thrilling buzzer-beater three-pointer, pushing Mount St. Mary’s to a 48-38 halftime lead.
Despite missing their top 3-point shooter, Carmelo Pacheco, who has been sidelined with a finger injury, the Mountaineers kept their momentum rolling into the second half. A key moment came when Malcolm Dread hit a three-pointer that extended their lead to 64-51.
With this victory, Mount St. Mary’s improves its NCAA Tournament record to 3-6. The match highlighted the competitive history between these two Washington D.C. area schools, with American leading the series 37-34. Prior to this loss, American had won four consecutive matchups against Mount St. Mary’s.
