BUENA VISTA, Va. – The St. Mary’s College of Maryland men’s basketball team traveled to Southern Virginia University on Wednesday (Feb. 17) night to take on the Knights in an exhibition. The Seahawks outlasted the Knights 81-75 for the victory.
St. Mary’s College – 81, Southern Virginia – 75
How It Happened
- The opening half of action was a tightly contested battle that witnessed neither team hold a lead of more than six points. Trailing 6-3 early in the contest, the Seahawks strung together an eight-point run to jump out to an 11-6 lead. Gary Grant, Olumide Lewis, and Daryn Alexander scored during the run. The Knights eventually trimmed the Seahawk lead to one at the 12:36 mark, but St. Mary’s College answered with layups from Jack Foley and Alexander to retain their five-point advantage.
- The Seahawks captured their largest lead of the half with two made free throws from Grant and a layup from Albert Scott to extend their advantage to six with 1:54 remaining. However, the Knights finished strong by outscoring the Seahawks 10-2, which included a buzzer-beater three-pointer to take a 41-39 lead into halftime. Southern Virginia finished 11-of-20 from beyond the three-point arc in the first half.
- The second half of the action was similar to the first and featured seven lead changes. The Seahawks trailed by five with 16:48 remaining but outscored the Knights 10-1 to take a 56-52 lead. Cameron Rucker highlighted the run with the final three points of the scoring streak.
- With the game knotted up at 69-69, St. Mary’s College once again attempted to take control of the game with a four-point run. Micah Henry and Grant tallied back-to-back layups for the advantage. Minutes later, the Knights drained a jumper to even the game up at 75 apiece with 43 seconds remaining. With under five seconds left in the contest, Elijah Crawford battled for an offensive rebound and drew the foul on his layup attempt. Crawford kept his composure and made both of the ensuing free throws to give St. Mary’s College a 77-75 lead with short time remaining. The Seahawk defense clamped down on the Knights final offensive possession and forced a turnover. Lastly, Foley iced the game for the Seahawks by converting on both of his free throw attempts.
Inside the Box Score
- The Seahawks finished the night with three scorers in double figures. Alexander led St. Mary’s College with 18 points. Grant recorded 16 points while Henry added 13, respectively. Darian Callaway, Henry, Scott, and Grant led the team with two assists each.
- Scott paced the Seahawks with a team-best nine rebounds. Defensively, Foley and Crawford tallied a team-high two blocks each. Alexander and Grant hustled for a team-best two steals each.
- The Seahawks took advantage of their second chance points, scoring 20 compared to the Knights six. St. Mary’s College also dominated in the paint, recording 26 points compared to Southern Virginia’s 16.
- Jake Middleton led the Knights with a team-best 27 points.
Up Next for the Seahawks
- Feb. 19 vs. Neumann University (Exhibition) | 6 PM | MPOBARC Arena