Morse scores 20, Mount St. Mary’s slips past Bryant 79-76

EMMITSBURG, Md. (AP) — Vado Morse scored 20 points and Mount St. Mary’s used two defensive stops in the last 25 seconds to hold off Bryant 79-76 on Saturday, stretching its win streak to four games.

Jalen Gibbs had 15 points for Mount St. Mary’s (9-11, 5-2 Northeast Conference), while Omar Habwe added 13 points. Damian Chong Qui had 12 points, six assists and two steals.

Adam Grant had 26 points for the Bulldogs (10-10, 2-5). Juan Cardenas added 20 points. Ikenna Ndugba had nine rebounds. Bryant got off to a crackling start, making 10 3-pointers before halftime, but were just 3-of-9 after the break.

Trailing 74-73 with 25 seconds remaining, Grant drove for a layup only to have his shot blocked by the Mountaineers’ Nana Opoku, who had four blocks in the game. Morse made a free throw, inching the lead to 75-73 when Chong Qui swiped the ball from Bryant’s Ndugba with 11 seconds left.

The Bulldogs fouled and Gibbs made both for a 77-73 lead — just enough to survive a Michael Green 3-pointer with 22.1 seconds on the clock.

Mount St. Mary’s faces Sacred Heart on the road on Thursday. Bryant takes on Robert Morris on the road on Thursday.