St. Mary’s Remains Undefeated in Conference Action
St. Mary's City, Md. - Sophomore guard Alex Franz (Catonsville, Md./Cardinal Gibbons) notched a game-high 20 points in leading the St. Mary's College of Maryland men's basketball team to a 63-52 victory over Capital Athletic Conference rival, Salisbury University, Wednesday night.
St. Mary's (10-2, 3-0 CAC) remains undefeated in CAC play with tonight's win. The University of Mary Washington (6-5, 3-0 CAC) and Wesley College (4-5, 1-0 CAC) have also not lost a league game yet.
Junior guard Camontae Griffin (Baltimore, Md./Dunbar) was the only other Seahawk in double digits as Griffin tallied 17 points. Sophomore forward Mike Bowden (Columbia, Md./Long Reach) added five points and a team-high nine rebounds before fouling out.
The Seahawks came out firing on all cylinders, surprising Salisbury (4-8, 1-2 CAC) with a 14-2 start to the contest as Griffin and sophomore forward Mike Fitzpatrick (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) combined for 11 points in the run. The Sea Gulls were 1-for-6 in the game's first five minutes with three turnovers.
Junior Drew Dickson (Silver Spring, Md./Springbrook) came off the bench to spark SU with a three-pointer a 15:01, igniting a 20-10 run to pull Salisbury within 24-22 with 2:05 left as junior Greg Palmer (Salisbury, Md./Salisbury Christian) capped the run with a long-range shot of his own.
A dunk by senior center Alex Irmer (Alexandria, Va./Wakefield) at 00:46 helped St. Mary's edge Salisbury, 26-22, at the half. Dickson's hot hand from downtown kept the Sea Gulls in the game as Dickson led all players with his nine first-half points on 3-of-3 shooting from three-point land. Franz had seven to pace the Seahawks.
Salisbury claimed the lead twice in the second half's first 2:34, but following sophomore forward Ryan Hourihan's (Baltimore, Md./Dulaney) jumper that gave his team a 29-28 lead, the Seahawks posted another 14-2 run to distance themselves from the flock of Gulls with an 11-point lead at 11:41 (42-31). St. Mary's boasted its biggest lead of 15 (52-37) with 5:46 remaining and never looked back.
Franz went 7-of-11 from the floor and grabbed six rebounds, while Griffin (7-for-8) and Franz (5-for-6) combined for 12-for-14 from the free throw line as the Seahawks finished 17-for-19.
Salisbury received 27 points from its bench as Hourihan led his squad with a double-double on 18 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, while Palmer finished with 12 points and three assists. Dickson was held scoreless in the second half and ended up with his nine first-half points.
St. Mary's will have another CAC contest this Saturday, January 10 as the Seahawks travel to Frederick, Md. to take on Hood College at 4:00. The men's game will be the second of Saturday's league doubleheader as the St. Mary's women face Hood at 4:00.
