St. Mary’s Wins Penn State-Behrend Tip-Off Tournament
Erie, Pa. - Junior guard Camontae Griffin (Baltimore, Md./Dunbar) earned tournament MVP honors after helping the St. Mary's College of Maryland men's basketball team claim the Penn State-Behrend Tip-Off Tournament title. St. Mary's (2-0) handed the host Behrend Lions a 69-52 setback in the championship game Saturday afternoon.
Griffin notched a team-best 15 points in leading four Seahawks to double-digit scoring in the championship match-up. The 5-9 transfer finished tournament play averaging 16.5 points on 12-of-25 shooting, including going 3-of-7 from downtown.
Senior forward Calvin Wise (Bel Air, Md./Calvert Hall) joined Griffin on the All-Tournament as Wise nearly averaged a double-double in two games with 13.0 points per game and 9.5 rebounds per game.
St. Mary's never trailed in this contest as the Seahawks nearly doubled up on Penn State-Behrend in the first half, boasting a 40-21 advantage at halftime. SMCM opened up the game on a 13-2 run behind seven points from Griffin and four from Wise. The Behrend Lions (1-1) were plagued in the first 20 minutes by poor perimeter shooting as the team went 4-of-14 from downtown, finishing the half with a .320 field goal percentage.
Junior guard Adam Kaiser (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) led all players with 11 first-half points, while Griffin and sophomore guard Alex Franz (Catonsville, Md./Cardinal Gibbons) each had nine points to pace the Seahawks. St. Mary's was red-hot in the first half, shooting 56.7% from the field.
The Seahawks held their biggest lead of 25 points at the 13:24 mark of the second half following a dunk by Wise. Penn State-Behrend used a 23-7 run to pull within 59-50 at 4:26 but that would be as close as they would get as St. Mary's ended the game on a 10-2 spurt. The Behrend Lions nailed three long range shots in the run, including a pair from Kaiser.
Senior center Alex Irmer (Alexandria, Va./Wakefield) was second in scoring for the Seahawks with 14 points, while Franz finished the game with a dozen points and game-highs of nine boards and five assists. Wise contributed 10 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks.
Adam poured in a game-best 21 points as he was 5-of-11 from behind the arc, while senior guard Drew Seker (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial) chipped in nine points and a team-best eight caroms.
The Seahawks will open up action in the 2008 Provident Pride of Maryland Division III Men's Scholarship Tournament on Tuesday, November 25 as St. Mary's hosts McDaniel College in first-round action at 7:00 in the Athletics & Recreation Center Arena. Last season, the Seahawks finished third in the tournament with a 94-81 victory over Salisbury University in the third-place match-up.
