HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. - Saints men's basketball won their second-straight conference contest on Saturday afternoon at Centenary by a final score of 76-to-68.

MU used the strong second half to continue their strong start to conference play, improving to 3-1 in the Atlantic East. 

Notable

• It was Marcus Beckett leading the charge for the Saints again. After a stellar performance against Neumann earlier this week, the junior guard did it again by putting up a new career-high 18 points, adding eight rebounds. He ended the afternoon going 8-for-11 from the floor. 
• Ra'Shawn Cook had a strong day across the court, dropping 14 points with eight rebounds, two steals, and two assists. 
• Jack Bifano also dropped 14 total points for the Saints, choosing the right shots and going 7-of-8 from the field. 
• Rounding out the double-digit scoring efforts for MU was Marcus Stubbs, who had 13 total points and four assists. 
• The Saints as a team shot 52.8% from the field. 

How It Happened

• It was Cook who started the scoring for the Saints in the affair. After a Centenary bucket, the graduate student sank a three off the pass from Stubbs in the opening minutes. 
• After the Cyclones took a five point lead, Stubbs put momentum back on the Marymount bench, driving and making a layup with a good three pointer immediately following to give the Saints life just after the 12-minute mark.
• Centenary grabbed an eight-point lead after a quick run, but after a pair of good free throws from Cook and a quick jumper from Bifano, the Saints put themselves back within six with just under two minutes left in the half. 
• Beckett sank a contested layup in the final seconds to send Marymount to the locker room with some momentum, but looking at a six-point deficit at 37-31.
• A couple of back-and-forth scores from both teams kept the game in favor of the Cyclones, but a 9-0 run from MU gave the Saints their first lead of the half at 42-to-41.
• With just over six minutes left of contention, Centenary held a seven point lead. The Saints put themselves within three with a jumper from Bifano off the pass from Wyatt Hockenberry to start gaining momentume down the stretch. 
• It was a layup from Stubbs to give the Saints their lead, but a three from Beckett to decide the game, as MU held onto their lead down to the end, winning by the game's final score. 

Up Next

• Marymount will be back on the road next Wednesday, Jan. 18th, traveling to Immaculata for an AEC contest with tip off scheduled for 8:00 PM.
• The Saints will come back home on Saturday, Jan. 21st, playing against Marywood for Play for Joey day. Tip off is scheduled for 3:00 PM.