Seahawks Move on to Tip-Off Championship Game
Erie, Pa. - The St. Mary's College of Maryland men's basketball team had four players finish in double digits Friday night en route to a convincing 90-75 season-opening victory over Nazareth College in their first game at the Penn State-Behrend Tip-Off Tournament.
The Seahawks (1-0), who advanced to last season's Sweet Sixteen, will face the host Behrend Lions in Saturday's championship game at 3:00. An NCAA Second Round participant a year ago, Penn State-Behrend was a 71-66 winner over Bethany (W.Va.) College in tonight's other tournament match-up.
Nazareth (0-1), a 2008 NCAA First Round team, will take on Bethany in the consolation game at 1:00.
The lead changed 10 times in the first half and Nazareth saw its largest lead of the game - a 20-13 advantage at 11:36 dwindle to a one-point (42-41) halftime lead as the Golden Flyers were unable to put away a pesky Seahawk squad in the first half. Junior guard Corey McAdam (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport) gave Nazareth its marginal halftime margin with a jumper at the 00:31 mark.
The Golden Flyers had three players in double figures in the first half alone as senior Jeff DeHimer (Scotia, N.Y./Scotia-Glenville) led the way with a dozen points in 11 minutes, while C. McAdam and senior forward Ryan McAdam (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport) each tallied 11. Sophomore forward Mike Fitzpatrick (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) paced St. Mary's with 11 points off the bench as Fitzpatrick was a perfect 3-of-3 from downtown.
Although the Seahawks' perimeter shooting was shutdown in the second stanza, St. Mary's worked the inside game and notched 36 of its 49 second-half points in the paint. The Seahawks went on to end the night with a .529 field goal percentage after shooting close to 57% in the second half.
Back-to-back lay-ups by junior transfer Camontae Griffin (Baltimore, Md./Dunbar) gave SMCM the lead for good with 16:04 left in the game. The Seahawks outscored Nazareth, 39-25, the rest of the way for the win.
Griffin put up a team-high 18 points and dished out five assists, while senior captain Calvin Wise (Bel Air, Md./Calvert Hall) recorded a double-double on 16 points and a game-best 11 rebounds. Sophomore guard Alex Franz (Catonsville, Md./Cardinal Gibbons) added 13 points, six assists, and three steals. Fitzpatrick picked up two additional points in the second half to finish with 13 points, while senior center Alex Irmer (Alexandria, Va./Wakefield) chipped in 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting.
DeHimer added 13 points to end the contest with a game-high 25 points, while C. McAdam, a 2008 NABC All-District First Team pick, contributed 20 points and a game-high nine assists. Older brother, Ryan, chipped in 14 points and five boards.
