No. 20 St. Mary’s Needs Overtime to Get Past Christopher Newport
Newport News, Va. - Senior guard Camontae Griffin (Baltimore, Md./Dunbar) poured in a game-high 34 points but the 20th-ranked St. Mary's College of Maryland men's basketball team still needed five extra minutes to post a 91-82 non-conference victory over host Christopher Newport University Tuesday night.
The game witnessed 19 lead changes and 16 tied scores as neither team was truly able to pull away until the final three minutes of overtime when No. 20 St. Mary's used a 12-2 run to close the door on the nine-point overtime triumph.
Heading into overtime, the Captains (9-9) were 9-for-20 (.450) from downtown but the Seahawks cooled off the Christopher Newport sharpshooters, keeping them scoreless from beyond the arc (0-for-5) down the stretch. The SMCM defense held the hosts to just one field goal in overtime which came at the 3:44-minute mark.
St. Mary's (17-3) was strong at the free throw line, making 30-of-35 attempts, with Griffin leading the charge as he went 19-of-21, including a perfect 12-of-12 in the first half. Joining Griffin in double figures for the Seahawks was junior guard Alex Franz (Catonsville, Md./Cardinal Gibbons) who tallied 18 points and added seven rebounds along with game-highs of six assists and four steals.
CNU overcame an early nine-point second half deficit and the Captains hung tough with the visitors for the rest of the half, leading by two three times in the final 4:31 of regulation. A Griffin layup at 00:21 gave his squad a 77-76 lead but freshman guard Xavier Parham (Richmond, Va./Highland Springs) tied the game seven seconds later, thankfully missing the backend of his two shots. Following three timeouts and three turnovers, the game headed into overtime.
Five Captains reached double digits as sophomore forward Brian Hermann (Newport News, Va./Denbigh) led the way with 17 points off the bench while senior center Mark Blasingame (Roanoke Rapids, N.C./Grafton [Va.]) added 14 points and a game-high eight rebounds. Senior guard Josh Russell (Suffolk, Va./Lakeland) contributed 13 points while senior Theo Baker (Virginia Beach, Va./Landstown) chipped in a dozen and sophomore Conley Taylor (Newport News, Va./Menchville) had 10.
Despite just shooting 37.5% to CNU's 50.0%, including 6-of-12 from downtown, the Seahawks managed a 45-43 lead at halftime, going 18-of-20 from the charity stripe. The Captains opened up the game with a 7-0 run before sophomore guard James Davenport (Owings Mills, Md./Loyola Blakefield) finally put St. Mary's on the board two minutes later.
CNU held a six-point advantage following a three-pointer by Hermann with 5:23 remaining in the half before the Seahawks closed out the half on a 14-6 run for the two-point lead at intermission. Griffin was 8-of-8 from the line during the rally.
The Seahawks will return to action this Saturday, February 6 as St. Mary's travels to Fredericksburg, Va., returning to Capital Athletic Conference action against University of Mary Washington at 3:00 pm.
