DAYTON, Ohio _ Mount St. Mary's last trip to Dayton ended in disappointment following a mighty comeback and near victory in the NCAA Tournament.
The Mountaineers made sure this time was different.
Three years ago, the Mount had a chance to take the lead late against Albany before having its hopes of a postseason run in March dashed. On Tuesday at Dayton Arena, New Orleans battled the Mountaineers down to the final seconds and had a chance for a game-winning shot.
But a full-court pass by the Privateers never found its intended target _ Chris Wray intercepted the heave just past midcourt and time ran out in Mount St. Mary's 67-66 victory.
Mount St. Mary's (20-15) advances to the Round of 64 to face top-seeded Villanova on Thursday in Buffalo.
Freshman guard Miles Wilson's free throws with 1:04 to play put the Mount ahead, 67-64, and the Mountaineers looked to be in great shape when New Orleans guard Christavious Gill was called for an offensive foul at the other end.
But the Privateers (20-12) came up with a turnover and drew a foul, giving guard Nate Frye two free-throw attempts with 34 seconds to go. Frye sank them both, cutting MSM's lead to one.
New Orleans, questionably, decided not to foul MSM on the next possession. The Mountaineers killed much of the clock before Junior Robinson shot a 12-foot jumper that missed off the front of the rim. By the time New Orleans had the rebound and called timeout, there were only 2.6 seconds left.
Its shot never materialized, and Mount moved on.
Robinson scored a game-high 23 points and Wilson added 17 and 11 rebounds, while forward Greg Alexander had nine points on three 3-pointers.
Frye led the Privateers with 18 points and forward Erik Thomas scored 12.
Gill sank two free throws with 1:48 to go, giving New Orleans a 64-63 lead. But Robinson drained a jumper from 15 feet away at the other end, putting Mount St. Mary's in front, 65-64, with 1:25 to play.
Tevin Broyles missed a shot for New Orleans on its ensuing trip, and Wilson got his hands on the ball at the other end to draw contact and get to the line.
MSM sophomore forward Elijah Long, the team's leading scorer, struggled throughout the game but finally got on the board after a steal and a layup with 8:24 to go, and he added a nifty reverse layup on the next possession that put MSM up, 58-53. But New Orleans stayed in it, and Frye's three-point play with 4 minutes to go cut the deficit to 63-62.
Robinson swished a 3-pointer from the right corner less than 2 minutes into the second half and the Mount led, 40-31. A cold spell followed, however, and New Orleans climbed back into it.
Four points from Travin Thibodeaux, including a thunderous baseline dunk, and a layup from Frye, and the Privateers trailed 40-37.
Mount St. Mary's committed three turnovers in that stretch. And when Frye drained a 16-foot jumper, UNO was down one. The Mountaineers responded again, with a 3-pointer from Alexander and a three-point play from Robinson, and extended their lead to 49-43.
Enter Frye, who totaled 10 points in a three-minute span and had the Privateers down, 49-47, at the under-12 media timeout.
The Privateers ended the half on a 10-2 run and trailed 32-29 at the break. MSM led, 30-19, before going cold down the stretch, missing four of five field goals (four 3-point attempts) and turning it over twice.
Thomas scored a pair of layups and Boyles added another one, and Thomas' steal-turned-layup with 61 seconds to go trimmed the deficit to two.
Long didn't score in the first half and played 10 minutes, picking up his second personal foul with 14:16 to go. Wilson filled the void for his teammate with 12 points and seven rebounds. Thomas kept New Orleans close with 12 points and five boards.
The Mount jumped ahead 18-11 behind a 13-1 run that took it into the under-12 media timeout. Wilson had eight points at the stoppage thanks to a pair of 3-pointers, the second of which put MSM up by seven with 11:41 to go in the half.
New Orleans missed five field goals and committed an offensive foul during the Mountaineers' run.
Not known for their rebounding prowess, the Mountaineers held the advantage at halftime with 10 boards to New Orleans' 16.
Mount St. Mary's needed the first four minutes to settle its nerves, and New Orleans led, 10-5, with 15:46 to play in the half. But Mawdo Sallah scored on a one-handed hook from close range, and Robinson added a 3 from the right corner to tie the score.
The Mount missed its first three shots and committed two turnovers before Wilson sank a 3 from the right corner, giving the rookie a nice start to his first NCAA Tournament experience.
