St. Mary’s (Md) Jumps Up Four Spots in D3hoops.com Top 25
Sterling, Va. - The D3hoops.com Division III Top 25 Week 2 Poll was released by Pat Coleman of D3hoops.com this afternoon and the St. Mary's College of Maryland men's basketball moved up four spots to break the Top 15 for the first time ever by earning the No. 14 spot with 281 points.
The Seahawks remain undefeated on the young 2008-09 campaign with an overall record of 7-0. St. Mary's has opened up defense of the program's second-ever Capital Athletic Conference championship title with a pair of wins over Stevenson University and Marymount (Va.) University last week.
St. Mary's is currently one of 11 schools on the poll that remain undefeated.
In the 2008-09 preseason poll, the Seahawks were unofficially ranked No. 29 as the squad received the fourth highest votes (71) after the Top 25 schools. Last week, St. Mary's was ranked 18th.
SMCM garnered the program's first-ever ranking at the end of the 2007-08 season with its listing at No. 24 after advancing to the Sweet 16 in its first-ever trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Junior guard Camontae Griffin (Baltimore, Md./Dunbar) continues to lead the offensive charge with 21.4 points per game, while sophomore guard Alex Franz (Catonsville, Md./Cardinal Gibbons) and senior center Alex Irmer (Alexandria, Va./Wakefield) are also averaging in double figures with 13.4 and 12.6, respectively.
Senior forward Calvin Wise (Bel Air, Md./Calvert Hall) controls the glass for the Seahawks with 6.3 rebounds per game, while Franz is second with a 5.6 average.
As a team, St. Mary's owns a +12.6 scoring margin as the offense averages 81.6 points per game, ranking them first in the CAC in scoring margin and second in scoring offense. The Seahawks also lead the conference in scoring defense as the squad has held their opponents to an average of 69.0 points per game.
In its last game before final exams start, St. Mary's will travel to New York, N.Y. to take on Baruch College on Saturday, December 13 at 1:00. The Baruch Bearcats have won four straight and currently owns a 6-2 overall record. The Seahawks met Baruch during the 2006-07 season on the Bearcats' home court and St. Mary's came away with a 79-72 victory.
