No. 18 St. Mary’s Opens Up CAC Title Defense with Win
Stevenson, Md. - Four Seahawks in double figures helped the No. 18 St. Mary's College of Maryland men's basketball team to an 80-71 road win over Stevenson University in the conference opener for both squads as the Hawks started defense of their Capital Athletic Conference title Wednesday night.
Sophomore guard Alex Franz (Catonsville, Md./Cardinal Gibbons) put in a strong performance for St. Mary's as Franz led all players with a double-double on game-highs of 18 points and 11 caroms, all of which were defensive boards. He also matched his season-high with six assists and equaled his career-best with two three-pointers on the night.
The Seahawks (6-0, 1-0 CAC), who are ranked 18th in this week's D3hoops.com Top 25, extended their win streak to six straight as they head into this Saturday's clash with Marymount (Va.) University. SMCM will host Marymount in the second half of a conference doubleheader with the Saints. Tip-off for the men's game is set for 4:00 following the women's game which starts at 2:00.
The men's first half was similar to that of the women's earlier in the evening as the score was tied four times with five lead changes. After senior center Kerry Dugan (Sparks, Md./Hereford) gave Stevenson (1-6, 0-1 CAC) an early 2-0 lead, St. Mary's used a 7-0 push to take its first lead of the night but with a 14-4 run of their own, the Mustangs reclaimed the advantage at 12:10. From that point on, the game would go back-and-forth until the Seahawks closed out the half on a 7-2 spurt to post a 36-33 halftime margin.
Franz notched 12 of his game-high 18 points in the first half as he led all players at intermission and senior center Alex Irmer (Alexandria, Va./Wakefield) added five rebounds and four points, while Dugan paced his team with eight points and five caroms.
Senior guard Chaise Lancaster's (Bowie, Md./Northwestern) lay-up to start the second half put the Mustangs within one but that would be the closest they would get for the rest of the night. St. Mary's would go on establish a double-digit advantage for the remainder of the stanza - a deficit which Stevenson could not overcome.
Junior guard Camontae Griffin (Baltimore, Md./Dunbar) tallied 14 points in the Seahawks' victory, while Irmer (13 points, 7 rebounds) maintained his hold of the top spot in the CAC in field goal percentage with a 6-of-6 effort from the field. Sophomore forward Mike Bowden (Columbia, Md./Long Reach), the CAC's leading shot blocker, came off the bench to provide 11 points, seven caroms and two blocks.
All five Mustang starters scored in double figures as Lancaster led the way with 17. Dugan and senior Ely Richardson (Hartford, Conn./Suffield Academy) each contributed 12 points eight rebounds, while junior guard Greg Woody (Baltimore, Md./Mount Saint Joseph) also had a dozen points. Sophomore Greg Collins (Baltimore, Md./Western Tech) chipped in 10 points, five caroms, and three steals.
