Seahawks Bow Out in Sweet 16
St. Louis, Mo. (courtesy, WUSTL SID) - Senior Edrick Montgomery recorded a double-double with 27 points and a career-high 20 rebounds to lead No. 14 Millsaps College to an 82-73 win over St. Mary's College of Maryland in the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Sectional Semifinals at the WU Field House on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis on Friday, March 14. With the win, the Majors advance to the Sectional Final, where they await the winner of Friday evening's other semifinal match between host No. 11 Washington and Buena Vista University.
St. Mary's (19-12) ‘Cinderella' run ends tonight as the Seahawks finish the 2007-08 season with a school record 19 wins since the College joined NCAA Division III. St. Mary's had an impressive run in its first-ever trip to the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament and have a lot to be proud of this season.
Millsaps (28-3) led by as many as five points in the first half and took a narrow, 34-33, lead into the locker room. The Majors took their largest lead of the frame when senior Rodney Rogan made a lay-up at the 10:44 mark to make the score 19-14. Back-to-back scores from St. Mary's forwards Kyle Jarczynski (Bel Air, Md./Calvert Hall) and Calvin Wise (Bel Air, Md./Calvert Hall) brought the Seahawks to within one point just 1:32 later, and St. Mary's regained the upper hand when freshman forward Mike Fitzpatrick (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) scored with just 4:13 left, making the score 28-27.
A three-pointer from freshman guard Alex Franz (Catonsville, Md./Cardinal Gibbons) increased the Seahawk lead to two points, 31-29, but the Majors jumped back ahead on a made three by junior Chad Songy.
Montgomery led all scorers with 13 first-half points, nearly recording a double-double with nine rebounds. Franz powered the St. Mary's attack, scoring 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting, also pulling down a team-high seven rebounds. The Majors held a 22-19 rebound advantage through one half, but St. Mary's outscored Millsaps, 22-14, in the paint.
"We knew that Millsaps is a physical, up in your face type of
team," Franz said. "I thought maybe if I could try and drive
past them and get a quick first step, I'd be able to do some
things. After that first shot went in, it felt good, so I
just kept it going."
The Seahawks opened the second half on an 11-5 run, jumping out to
a five-point lead, their largest of the game, on a lay-up from
Wise. However, the Majors came right back, scoring five quick
points to knot the score at 44 apiece. The two teams traded
several baskets before St. Mary's used a 7-0 run to take a
six-point lead.
Unfazed by its six-point deficit, Millsaps used an 8-2 run, capped
off by a lay-up from Rogan at the 9:53 mark to tie the score at
55-55. The back-and-forth nature of the game continued as the
Seahawks jumped back ahead, 60-55. But, the game of runs
ended when the Majors outscored St. Mary's 12-3 over a 5:47 stretch
to move ahead for good, prevailing by nine points.
"The composure of everyone on this team was great tonight,"
Millsaps head coach Tim Wise said. "We didn't make bad
decisions when we were down and we didn't cave in. And when
we were finally able to get Montgomery back in and that probably
even helped give him more energy coming down the stretch."
Songy, 17 points, and Rogan, 18 points, also scored in double
figures for Millsaps.
Franz nearly recorded a triple-double for St. Mary's, finishing the game with a career-high 22 points, shattering his regular season-best 13-point output, 15 rebounds and eight assists. Seahawk senior guard Tyson Lesesne (Edgewood, Md./Edgewood) finished the game with 14 points, shooting 4-of-9 from long range, scoring all of his points in the second half.
