CRESSON, Pa. – La Roche men's basketball saw its seven game AMCC regular season week streak come to an end in the AMCC opener for 2023, falling to Mt. Aloysius 86-77.
The first half saw the opening 10:34 of play be a defensive battle, with the score sitting at just 17-17.
During that time frame, neither team had a lead larger than four points, which was held by the Redhawks, 8-4 at the 17:09 mark.
La Roche took an 18-17 lead off a free-throw at the 9:26 remaining point, but it would be countered by a 7-0 Mounties run to make it 24-18.
Still, with 5:24 remaining, Mt. Aloysius led 29-24, but the Redhawks countered to regain the lead off a quick 6-0 run.
After trading the lead back and forth for a couple minutes, La Roche opened a 40-35 lead with a minute remaining, only to see the Mounties score the final four points to take a 40-39 lead into the half.
Out of the break, Mt. Aloysius opened with a 5-0 run to regain what was a 44-40 lead, countered by the Redhawks with a run of 13-2 to open a 53-46 edge.
With 11:05 left in the second half, La Roche grew its lead to a game high nine, 62-53, but from there, the Mounties took over.
Mt. Aloysius began its run at 10:35 remaining, a total run of 11-0, overtaking the lead at 64-62, a run that lasted 2:28.
La Roche took the lead one last time at 66-64 with 7:29 left, but another 7-0 Mounties run pushed the edge to 71-66 with 4:14 left.
The Redhawks would only manage from that point to cut the deficit to two, which ended the Mt. Aloysius run, and would be outscored 15-8 from the point of the 71-69 score, as the Mounties closed out the victory.
For the game, La Roche finished the night going 27-for-61 (44.3%) from the floor and 10-for-28 (35.7%) from three. From the foul line, the Redhawks capitalized on 13 of 17 attempts (76.5%).
On the other side, Mt. Aloysius finished 32-for-59 (54.2%) from the field, and 6-for-14 (42.9%) from deep, while going 16-for-24 (66.7%) from the foul line.
La Roche had three players in double figures, with Michael Brooks leading the way with 20 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
Joe Starzynski chipped in 19 points, adding nine rebounds, while Bryce Epps scored 13 points with a pair of rebounds and assists.
The Redhawks return home for the first time since Nov. 15, when they host Alfred State in their AMCC home opener on Saturday, Dec. 2. Opening tip is set for 4 p.m.