Seahawks Pull Out Win at Gallaudet
Washington, D.C. - Seniors Alex Irmer (Alexandria, Va./Wakefield) and Calvin Wise (Bel Air, Md./Bel Air) registered double-doubles in leading the St. Mary's College of Maryland men's basketball team to a dramatic 84-74 triumph over host Gallaudet University in Capital Athletic Conference action as the Seahawks notched their seventh consecutive victory.
St. Mary's 20th victory of the season also established a school record for most wins in a season since the Seahawks joined the NCAA in the early 1980s. The old mark was 19 set by the 2007-08 squad which embarked on the program's first-ever NCAA tournament trip, advancing to the Sweet Sixteen.
It was an exciting game as the contest featured 12 lead changes and nine times the score was tied, with the last occurrence happening at 62-62 with 10:18 remaining in the game.
Gallaudet (11-13, 2-13) was hot in the first half as the Bison shot a blistering 65.4 percent from the floor to trail the defending CAC Champions only 44-41 at halftime. The first 20 minutes were basically back-and-forth as neither squad led by more than four at any given point until St. Mary's established a 44-38 margin behind a pair of free throws by Irmer at 00:57. However, senior Jon Mowl (Fishers, Ind.) cut the lead to three with a long-range shot 18 seconds later.
St. Mary's junior guard Camontae Griffin (Baltimore, Md./Dunbar) led all scorers at intermission with 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting, while senior Sekoe White (Lexington, Ky.) paced the Bison with 11 on 5-of-7 shooting.
Gallaudet continued to hang with the Seahawks (20-4, 13-2) in the second stanza until the 9:40-minute mark when Wise's lay-up sparked a 15-4 run which helped St. Mary's put the game away with a 77-66 advantage at 5:13. The Bison trimmed it to 77-71 following a jumper by White at 2:01 but St. Mary's went on to close out the game going 7-for-8 from the charity stripe to seal the deal.
Griffin led all scorers with 27 points as he went 8-for-10 from the free throw line before being ejected from the game for fighting. Irmer notched a game- and season-high 16 rebounds along with 10 points, while Wise matched his career-high with 14 boards and chipped in 11 points. Sophomore guard Alex Franz (Catonsville, Md./Cardinal Gibbons) added 17 points.
White ended the evening with 25 points on 10-of-18 shooting and swatted away two shots, while freshman Tony Tatum (Birmingham, Ala.) tallied 19 and six caroms before being ejected for fighting. Junior Johnny Jackson, Jr. (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) added 13 points, five rebounds, and three assists before fouling out.
The Seahawks will return to action next Saturday, February 21, when St. Mary's hosts Wesley College in a key conference clash at 4:00 on Seahawk Senior Day. The winner will most likely be the top seed in the upcoming 2009 CAC Men's Basketball Tournament which begins Tuesday, February 24.
