SHU to face test from Mount St. Mary's

The Mount helped re-route things to the Pitt Center on the campus of Sacred Heart University in Fairfield after upsetting top-seeded Robert Morris 83-65 in the NEC semifinals.

But head coach Milan Brown does not expect many thank- you cards and letters from Pioneer fans — not until at least after Wednesday night's championship game (7, ESPN2).

"It's March and we have a chance to play for the NCAA tournament," said Brown in a telephone interview from Emmitsburg, Md. He chuckled when asked if he made any new friends yet at SHU. "There's still another game to be played," Brown said.

The Mount (17-14) has already done a rather good job of being a disruptive force in the NEC, knocking off the top seed and setting their sights on the No. 3 Pioneers (18-13). SHU won the only meeting of the regular season 67-59 on Jan. 19 in Emmitsburg.

Mount St. Mary's enters the title game on a four-game winning streak and having won seven of its past eight contests.

"We are playing with a lot of confidence," Brown said. "The players are not getting out of character (on game days) — they play the way we practice."

They also play well as a team, which Brown said is the reason they have surged down the stretch despite playing only one senior, guard Chris Vann.

Van has been especially instrumental in brining along sophomore point guard Jeremy Goode, who runs the show on a team that has just two juniors and two seniors overall. The rest of the team is comprised of 12 freshmen and sophomores.

"He's the leader," Brown said of Vann. "He's helped Jeremy really handle everything. Chris is the toughest guy on the team and Jeremy feeds off him."

Goode scored a team-high 23 points to lead his squad over Robert Morris in the semifinals while sophomore swingman Kelly Beidler came off the bench for 15.

The backcourt, which is the team's strength, goes even deeper with third starter Will Holland and freshman Jean Cajou.

Holland has size for a guard at 6-foot-4 and has done a decent job on the boards during the season to go with strong defensive play.

"He's become a much better rebounder," Brown said. "He's had to guard some of the better players in the league this season, and when he makes his shots, he gives us a third perimeter scorer."

Cajou has shaken off the freshnman jitters to emerge as a driving force late in the season, averaging 18.2 points in the last five games.

"He's been huge for us," Brown said. "He's been the biggest factor (down the stretch)."

Cajou also happens to be the team's top perimeter defender and should be rather busy trying to slow down a Pioneer team that loves to light it up from outside.

"He's been an added weapon for us," said Brown, whose club prides itself on defense and led the NEC in points allowed (65.1) and field goal percentage defense (.398) during the regular season.

Cajou's development has allowed Beidler to slide up to the frontcourt at times and assist 6-7 junior starters Sam Atupem and Markus Mitchell.

Atupem gives the team a solid low-post threat that scored in double figures nine times and finished second in the NEC in field goal percentage (61.9).

Mitchell and Atupem's brother, 6-7 freshman Shawn, are also factors inside.

Despite having a young squad, Brown says he has full confidence in his players and what they can do at this point in the season.

"The last two games I've given up a little more control and not try to over coach them," he said.

The Pitt Center figures to be rocking Wednesday night and Brown knows that can be a factor on a young team, but believes winning in Moon Township should help his team.

"It gave some of our guys a little bit of confidence," he said. "It's always tough to win on the road — you have to do a lot of things right.

"It's going to be a little difference environment and who ever wins is going to the Dance." Inside the Mount

A look at Mount St. Mary's men's basketball team:

Nickname — Mountaineers, or The Mount
Location — Emmitsburg, Md.
Coach — Milan Brown, fifth season
Record — 17-14, 11-7 Northeast Conference (4th)
NEC championships — 1995, 1999 Starting five - 6-0 SR. G Chris Vann (14.7 ppg, 85 3-pointers), 5-9 Soph. PG Jeremy Goode (14.3 ppg, 5.6 apg), Soph. G Will Holland (9.0 ppg, 3.6 rpg), 6-7 Jr. F Sam Atupem (8.2 ppg, 4.7 rpg), 6-7 Jr. F Markus Mitchell (5.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg).
Key reserves — 6-3 Fr. G Jean Cajou (6.7 ppg, 2.4 rpg), 6-5 Soph. G Kelly Beidler (6.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg) How they got here — Beat Quinnipiac in quarterfinals 80-70; beat No. 1 Robert Morris in semifinals 83-65
AGAINST SHU this season - Lost at home 67-59 on Jan. 19.
NOTES — The Mount is 2-0 all-time in NEC championship games. Cajou is averaging 18.2 points over last five games. Goode leads the NEC in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.62. The Mount are the top defense in the NEC, allowing 66.9 ppg. Brown was an assistant coach under Jim Phelan for the Mount in the 1999 NEC title game. He played college ball at Howard University and led the Bison to the NCAA Tournament in 1992.