ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, NY – Junior Joe Cooke (Mount Vernon, NY/Fordham Prep) led five players in double-figures as the Mount Saint Vincent Men's Basketball snapped a three game losing skid with a

Joe Cooke led the Mount with 21 points on 8-15 shooting at Bard.

122-68 triumph at Bard (6-14, 3-10) on Wednesday night. Senior captain Derek Charlton (Yonkers, NY/St. Raymond's) also had a strong night, posting 20 points in the win.

The lead changed hands five times in the first half on Wednesday, before the Mount took the lead for good at 9-7 on a three-pointer from Cooke with 17:17 left in the first period. The Dolphins' lead would grow to double-digits with just over 10:00 left in the frame when Charlton knocked down a pair of free-throws to push the Mount ahead by 11. The lead would surge to 21 points with 2:35 left on a jumper from Cooke, before the Mount closed the half with a 53-27 advantage.

Charlton finished the half with 14 points to lead all scorers to go along with three rebounds, an assist and a steal. The Mount shot a red-hot .639 from the floor overall in the period and held a 42-16 advantage in points in the paint. The Dolphins also out-rebounded the Raptors in the frame by a 25-17 margin.

Cooke pushed the Mount lead to 29 points out of the intermission when he buried a three to give the Mount a 56-27 lead. The Raptors would close to within 26 points three times in the half, but could get no closer as the Mount outscored Bard 69-41 in the second. 

Cooke finished the night 8-15 from the floor overall and 3-7 from long range on his way to his team-high 21 points. He also went 2-3 from the foul line, grabbed a rebound and picked up a steal. Charlton finished the night 9-11 from the floor and 2-3 from the charity stripe on his way to 20 points. He also handed out a pair of assists and grabbed seven rebounds.

Dino Johnson (Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam) chipped in 19 points on the night on 4-8 shooting and knocked down 2-4 from long range and 9-11 from the free-throw line. Kenny Widgeon (Plainfield, NJ/The Hotchkiss School) poured in 17 points on the night to go along with six rebounds, while Justin Baylosis (East Rockaway, NY/Archbishop Molloy) finished with 10 points and five assists.

11 players posted assists for the Mount, who assisted on 29 baskets in the tilt. Johnson led the way with seven, while Patrick Panetta (Ridgefield Park, NJ/Ridgefield Park) and Eric Lastres (Bayside, NY/Archbishop Molloy) each had four. Lastres also pulled down six boards in the game, while rookie Kyle Byrons (Goshen, NY/Burke Catholic) finished the night with five.

Overall on the night the Mount shot .686 (48-70) from the floor and .455 (5-11) from three-point range. The Dolphins were also 21-29 from the free-throw line in the contest. The Mount owned the boards on Wednesday, holding a 42-27 advantage in rebounding, leading to a 24-11 edge in second chance opportunities. The Dolphins forced 27 turnovers in the game and scored 38 points off of those and eight points off of the fast break.

The win moves the Dolphins to 8-12 overall and to 5-8 in the Skyline Conference. The Dolphins will be back in action on the road on Saturday, February 9 at Mount Saint Mary. The Dolphins edged the Blue Knights 88-87 in Riverdale on January 12. Tip-off in Newburgh is set for 4:00 p.m.