No. 23 Seahawks Dominant over Stevenson
Owings Mills, Md. - Balanced scoring from the 23rd-ranked St. Mary's College of Maryland men's basketball team helped the Seahawks cruise to a 78-54 Capital Athletic Conference win over Stevenson University Saturday evening.
No. 23 St. Mary's (16-3, 9-2 CAC) never trailed in the contest, boasting a 34-25 halftime advantage and then outscoring the host Mustangs, 44-29, in the second half to sweep the season series. The Seahawks broke the century mark in the first meeting between the two squads as SMCM notched a 103-71 victory at home on December 5.
Guards Camontae Griffin (Baltimore, Md./Dunbar) and Alex Franz (Catonsville, Md./Cardinal Gibbons) were the only Seahawks to reach double figures as Griffin tallied a game-high 18 points while Franz added 17. Griffin also dished out a game- and season-best five assists while Franz had three steals.
St. Mary's overpowered the Mustangs on the boards, 45 to 23, including a 33-21 advantage in defensive rebounds. Sophomore guard James Davenport (Owings Mills, Md./Loyola Blakefield) led the rebounding charge by matching his career-high with six while Franz and freshman guard Devin Spencer (Baltimore, Md./Towson Catholic) each pulled down five caroms.
The visitors finished shooting 50.9% from the floor, including going 16-of-30 (53.3%) in the second half, while also connecting on 7-of-16 from downtown with Griffin and Spencer leading the Seahawk sharpshooters with a pair of three-pointers apiece.
St. Mary's ruled in the paint as well, outscoring the Mustangs 32-12, while notching 18 points off fast break opportunities.
Stevenson (2-18, 2-9 CAC) did manage to find a hole in the Seahawks' perimeter defense as the Mustangs posted the highest three-point field goal percentage against St. Mary's this season, connecting on 8-of-16 long-range shots. Freshman Clifton Jones (Bowie, Md./Archbishop Spalding) was 3-of-7 from downtown as Jones finished the game as the home team's leading scorer with 15 points.
The Seahawks will return to action this coming Tuesday, February 2 as St. Mary's ventures to Newport News, Va. to face non-conference opponent, Christopher Newport University, at 7:30 pm.
