2017–18 Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers men's basketball team represented Mount St. Mary's University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Mountaineers, led by sixth-year head coach Jamion Christian, played their home games at Knott Arena in Emmitsburg, Maryland as members of the Northeast Conference. They finished the season 18–14, 12–6 in NEC play to finish in a tie for second place. As the No. 2 seed in the NEC tournament, they were upset in the quarterfinals by Robert Morris.

2017–18 Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers men's basketball
Conference	Northeast Conference
Record	18–14 (12–6 NEC)
Head coach	Jamion Christian (6th season)
Assistant coaches	Will Holland Graham Bousley Julian Boatner
Home arena	Knott Arena
Seasons ← 2016–17 2018–19 →

2017–18 Northeast Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Wagner	14	–	4		.778			23	–	10		.697
Saint Francis (PA)	12	–	6		.667			18	–	13		.581
Mount St. Mary's	12	–	6		.667			18	–	14		.563
LIU Brooklyn †	10	–	8		.556			18	–	17		.514
St. Francis Brooklyn	10	–	8		.556			13	–	18		.419
Robert Morris	9	–	9		.500			16	–	17		.485
Fairleigh Dickinson	9	–	9		.500			13	–	18		.419
Central Connecticut	7	–	11		.389			14	–	18		.438
Sacred Heart	5	–	13		.278			10	–	21		.323
Bryant	2	–	16		.111			3	–	28		.097
† 2018 NEC tournament winner

On May 2, 2018, Jamion Christian left his alma mater to take the head coaching job at Siena.^[1][2] One week later, the school hired former Mountaineer assistant coach Dan Engelstad from Division III Southern Vermont.^[3][4]

Previous season

The Mountaineers finished the 2016–17 season 20–16, 14–4 in NEC play to win the regular season NEC championship. The Mountaineers defeated Sacred Heart,^[5] Robert Morris,^[6] and Saint Francis (PA) to win the NEC tournament championship.^[7] As a result, the received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As a No. 16 seed in the East region, the defeated New Orleans in the First Four^[8][9] before losing to #1 Villanova in the first round.^[10]

Preseason

In a poll of league coaches at the NEC media day, the Mountaineers were picked to finish in fourth place.^[11] Senior guard Junior Robinson was named the preseason All-NEC team.^[12]

Roster

2017–18 Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 0 Junior Robinson 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Sr Mebane, North Carolina F 5 Chris Wray 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Shelby, North Carolina G 23 Greg Alexander 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Hampton, Virginia C 54 Ryan Gomes 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Westminster, Maryland G 15 Brandon Leftwich 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 177 lb (80 kg) So Brooklyn, New York F 30 Jack Vukelich 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Fr Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania G 3 Jonah Antonio 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS Fr Perth, Australia G 10 Donald Carey 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Upper Marlboro, Maryland G 12 Odri Dedolli 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 177 lb (80 kg) Fr Tirana, Albania F 13 Omar Habwe 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Fr Lexington, Virginia F 22 Nana Opoku 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 186 lb (84 kg) Fr Woodbridge, Virginia F 1 Bobby Planutis 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Hazleton, Pennsylvania F 11 Ace Stallings 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Fr Miami, Florida G 4 James West IV 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Woodbridge, Virginia F 14 Ross Young 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 196 lb (89 kg) Fr Atlanta, Georgia	Head coach Jamion Christian Assistant coach(es) Will Holland Graham Bousley Julian Boatner Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt Roster Last update: 09/24/2017

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
November 1, 2017* 9:40 pm		Delaware Hurricane relief charity exhibition	W 84–82 ^OT		27 – Robinson	8 – Planutis	8 – Robinson	Knott Arena (1,048) Emmitsburg, MD
November 4, 2017* 4:00 pm		Hood	W 93–78		38 – Robinson	7 – Carey	6 – Carey	Knott Arena (1,120) Emmitsburg, MD
Non-conference regular season
November 10, 2017* 9:00 pm, FS Wisconsin/MASN2		at Marquette Maui Invitational	L 59–80	0–1	20 – Robinson	5 – Antonio	6 – Robinson	BMO Harris Bradley Center (13,324) Milwaukee, WI
November 13, 2017* 7:00 pm, ACCN Extra		at No. 13 Notre Dame Maui Invitational	L 62–88	0–2	14 – Robinson	7 – Planutis	3 – Carey	Edmund P. Joyce Center (6,633) South Bend, IN
November 15, 2017* 7:00 pm, FS2		at Georgetown	L 68–102	0–3	26 – Robinson	5 – Antonio	6 – Carey	Capital One Arena (5,064) Washington, D.C.
November 18, 2017* 4:00 pm		vs. North Florida Maui Invitational	W 84–81	1–3	20 – Robinson	7 – Planutis	7 – Carey	Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium (300) Spartanburg, SC
November 21, 2017* 7:00 pm		York (PA)	W 91–80	2–3	27 – Robinson	10 – Antonio	12 – Carey	Knott Arena (1,290) Emmitsburg, MD
November 24, 2017* 7:00 pm		at Ohio	L 77–96	2–4	21 – Robinson	7 – Antonio	10 – Robinson	Convocation Center (4,099) Athens, OH
November 27, 2017* 7:00 pm		Morgan State	L 63–69	2–5	13 – Tied	8 – Carey	8 – Robinson	Knott Arena (1,420) Emmitsburg, MD
December 2, 2017* 4:00 pm, MASN		Loyola (MD)	W 80–75 ^OT	3–5	39 – Robinson	6 – Antonio	5 – Carey	Knott Arena (2,480) Emmitsburg, MD
December 5, 2017* 7:00 pm, ACCN Extra		at Pittsburgh	L 78–82 ^OT	3–6	24 – Robinson	7 – Carey	9 – Robinson	Petersen Events Center (2,333) Pittsburgh, PA
December 9, 2017* 2:00 pm		at Lehigh	L 60–75	3–7	20 – Robinson	7 – Wray	4 – Tied	Stabler Arena (694) Bethlehem, PA
December 15, 2017* 7:30 pm		Washington College	W 89–67	4–7	30 – Robinson	8 – Wray	5 – Robinson	Knott Arena (1,225) Emmitsburg, MD
December 18, 2017* 7:00 pm		at American	W 59–56	5–7	13 – Robinson	12 – Wray	5 – Robinson	Bender Arena (283) Washington, D.C.
December 22, 2017* 7:00 pm		at Coppin State	W 66–53	6–7	23 – Robinson	11 – Wray	8 – Robinson	Physical Education Complex (725) Baltimore, MD
NEC regular season
December 29, 2017 7:00 pm		at Wagner	L 57–76	6–8 (0–1)	19 – Robinson	5 – Wray	3 – Tied	Spiro Sports Center (1,722) Staten Island, NY
December 31, 2017 2:00 pm		at LIU Brooklyn	L 57–71	6–9 (0–2)	12 – Tied	8 – Wray	4 – Wray	Steinberg Wellness Center (597) Brooklyn, NY
January 4, 2018 7:00 pm		Bryant	W 96–80	7–9 (1–2)	25 – Robinson	10 – Wray	9 – Robinson	Knott Arena (1,348) Emmitsburg, MD
January 6, 2018 4:00 pm		Central Connecticut	W 78–51	8–9 (2–2)	27 – Robinson	9 – Wray	7 – Carey	Knott Arena (2,384) Emmitsburg, MD
January 11, 2018 7:00 pm		Sacred Heart	W 81–75	9–9 (3–2)	23 – Robinson	7 – Wray	4 – Tied	Knott Arena (1,448) Emmitsburg, MD
January 13, 2018 2:00 pm		at Saint Francis (PA)	W 81–80 ^OT	10–9 (4–2)	22 – Wray	8 – Wray	10 – Robinson	DeGol Arena (954) Loretto, PA
January 18, 2018 7:00 pm		at St. Francis Brooklyn	L 73–81	10–10 (4–3)	21 – Robinson	8 – Wray	6 – Carey	Generoso Pope Athletic Complex (385) Brooklyn, NY
January 20, 2018 4:30 pm		at Fairleigh Dickinson	L 72–73	10–11 (4–4)	19 – Robinson	13 – Wray	7 – Robinson	Rothman Center (486) Hackensack, NJ
January 25, 2018 9:00 pm, CBSSN		LIU Brooklyn	W 86–80	11–11 (5–4)	24 – Robinson	9 – Wray	7 – Wray	Knott Arena (2,231) Emmitsburg, MD
January 27, 2018 4:00 pm		St. Francis Brooklyn	W 86–72	12–11 (6–4)	27 – Robinson	8 – Antonio	7 – Wray	Knott Arena (3,005) Emmitsburg, MD
February 1, 2018 7:00 pm		at Robert Morris	W 67–42	13–11 (7–4)	15 – Alexander	13 – Wray	6 – Wray	PPG Paints Arena (804) Pittsburgh, PA
February 3, 2018 4:00 pm		Saint Francis (PA)	W 59–56	14–11 (8–4)	20 – Robinson	7 – Wray	3 – Tied	Knott Arena (3,045) Emmitsburg, MD
February 8, 2018 7:00 pm		at Central Connecticut	W 71–57	15–11 (9–4)	32 – Robinson	8 – Wray	5 – Robinson	William H. Detrick Gymnasium  New Britain, CT
February 10, 2018 1:00 pm		at Bryant	L 77–79	15–12 (9–5)	30 – Robinson	7 – Wray	5 – Wray	Chace Athletic Center (560) Smithfield, RI
February 15, 2018 7:00 pm		Fairleigh Dickinson	L 79–80	15–13 (9–6)	23 – Robinson	8 – Planutis	8 – Wray	Knott Arena (2,322) Emmitsburg, MD
February 17, 2018 1:00 pm		at Sacred Heart	W 74–69	16–13 (10–6)	30 – Robinson	13 – Wray	7 – Wray	William H. Pitt Center (404) Fairfield, CT
February 22, 2018 7:00 pm, CBSSN		Robert Morris	W 72–53	17–13 (11–6)	16 – Wray	7 – Planutis	8 – Robinson	Knott Arena (2,908) Emmitsburg, MD
February 24, 2018 4:00 pm		Wagner	W 73–62	18–13 (12–6)	22 – Robinson	9 – Wray	5 – Wray	Knott Arena (3,072) Emmitsburg, MD
NEC tournament
February 28, 2018 7:00 pm	(2)	(7) Robert Morris Quarterfinals	L 56–60	18–14	15 – Robinson	7 – Planutis	5 – Wray	Knott Arena (2,129) Emmitsburg, MD
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East Region. All times are in Eastern Time..

References

1. Stoetzer, Pat (May 2, 2018). "Men's Basketball: Christian leaving Mount St. Mary's for Siena College". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
2. Stoetzer, Pat. "Men's Basketball: Christian leaving Mount St. Mary's for Siena College". carrollcountytimes.com. Retrieved 2018-05-16.
3. "Dan Engelstad Named Mount St. Mary's Men's Basketball Head Coach" (Press release). Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers. May 9, 2018. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
4. "Mount St. Mary's introduces Southern Vermont's Dan Engelstad as head coach". Mid-Major Madness. Retrieved 2018-05-16.
5. "Mount St. Mary's tops Sacred Heart 76-73 in NEC quarterfinal". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2017-10-18.
6. Stoetzer, Pat. "Men's Basketball: Mount St. Mary's one win away from NEC title". carrollcountytimes.com. Retrieved 2017-10-18.
7. "Mount St. Mary's downs Saint Francis to win NEC tournament". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2017-10-18.
8. "Mount St. Mary's staves off New Orleans in NCAA tournament First Four opener". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2017-10-18.
9. "5-foot-5 Junior Robinson stars for Mount Saint Mary's in NCAA Tournament win over New Orleans". Philly.com. Retrieved 2017-10-18.
10. "Villanova avoids Mount St. Mary's bid at March Madness' greatest upset". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2017-10-18.
11. "Northeast Conference - Spread The Red! Saint Francis U is the Unanimous Pick To Win the #NECMBB Title". www.northeastconference.org. Retrieved 2017-10-25.
12. "Northeast Conference - Saint Francis U Lands Two Players On Preseason All-NEC Men's Basketball Team". northeastconference.org. Retrieved 2017-10-25.