No. 14 St. Mary’s, Wesley Ready to Battle for CAC Title Saturday

St. Mary's City, Md. - St. Mary's College of Maryland and Wesley College are the last two remaining teams in the 2010 Capital Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament and these two adversaries will meet tomorrow afternoon at 2:00 pm in the Michael P. O'Brien Athletics & Recreation Center Arena to battle for this year's championship title and an automatic berth in the 2010 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship tournament.

The Seahawks (23-3), ranked 14th nationally and first in the NCAA Division III Middle Atlantic Regional poll, punched their ticket to the program's third championship game appearance by avenging last season's semifinal loss to Marymount (Va.) University with a 95-62 victory over the fifth-seeded Saints in Thursday night's semifinal action as senior guard Camontae Griffin (Baltimore, Md./Dunbar) poured in a game-high 33 points.

St. Mary's clinched the top seed with an 82-63 win over York (Pa.) College on February 20, finishing the regular-season with a 14-2 conference record.  The No. 1 seed also gave St. Mary's its second consecutive CAC regular-season title while the 23 wins are the most in St. Mary's Division III era, eclipsing last season's total of 21.

The Seahawks have captured the CAC crown twice (1991 and 2008) in program history.  In 2008, St. Mary's made a Cinderella run in its first-ever NCAA tournament appearance, advancing to the Sweet 16.  SMCM comes into tomorrow's action having won nine straight, including five wins on the home court.  The Seahawks have been unstoppable at home, rolling to a record of 22-1 (including postseason) since February 2, 2008.  The one blemish was last year's semifinal loss to Marymount.

Wesley (19-7), the defending champion and the No. 3 seed, advanced to Saturday's championship battle by knocking off second-seeded York (Pa.) College, 94-81, on the road Thursday night and No. 6 seed Salisbury University, 82-64, in first round action Tuesday night.

In just their third season as a CAC member institution, the Wolverines will be making their second straight championship appearance, having claimed their first CAC title last season.

TICKETS: Ticket prices for Saturday's championship action are as follows: $6 - Adults and Senior Citizens, $3 - Students (with proper college ID).  CAC orange passes will not be valid for the title game.  The St. Mary's athletic department will pick up the tab for any SMCM student with a proper SMCM ID. 

Whoever wins Saturday afternoon will earn the league's automatic bid to the 2010 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship tournament, which begins with first and second round action on March 5-6.

2010 CAC Men's Basketball Tournament Schedule
Tuesday, Feb. 23 -- First Round
Game 1: #3 Wesley d. #6 Salisbury, 82-64
Game 2: #5 Marymount d. #4 Hood, 60-57

Thursday, Feb. 25 -- Semifinals
Game 3: #1 St. Mary's d. #5 Marymount, 95-62
Game 4: #3 Wesley d. #2 York, 94-81

Saturday, Feb. 27 -- Championship
Game 5: #3 Wesley at #1 St. Mary's, 2:00 pm