MORRISVILLE, N.Y. – Sophomore forward Gary Grant (Washington, D.C./Thomas Stone [Md.]) collected his second double-double of the season Friday night in leading the St. Mary’s College of Maryland men’s basketball team to their 10th consecutive victory. St. Mary’s College (11-5, 10-0 UEC) picked up an 85-77 United East Conference road victory over SUNY Morrisville (5-14, 2-8 UEC), staving off a late rally by the Mustangs.
How It Happened
- It was another tight game for the Seahawks as the contest featured nine lead changes and seven tied scores.
- Morrisville netted the first bucket of the game and held on to the lead for the next nine minutes and 30 seconds, building a five-point advantage on four different occasions with the last one coming at 11:57 (16-11) on a layup by Mike Green.
- St. Mary’s College staked its first lead of the contest at 10:20 on a fastbreak layup by first-year guard Olumide Lewis (Greenbelt, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt).
- The Mustangs briefly reclaimed a 21-20 lead at 8:46 on a Tron Smith fastbreak layup before the visitors outscored the hosts, 22-17, to take a 42-38 margin into the locker room at halftime.
- In the second half, the Seahawks increased their advantage to 57-51 at 13:45 as Grant scored seven straight points.
- The two sides traded leads over the next few minutes as Morrisville put together a 19-10 run to boast a 70-67 lead at 5:39 following another Smith bucket.
- However, back-to-back triples by Lewis and junior guard Daryn Alexander (Twinbrook, Md./Richard Montgomery) in a 26-second span dashed the Mustangs’ hopes of splitting the series with St. Mary’s College as SMCM regained the lead for good.
- After Michael Litchfield knocked down consecutive three-point baskets to pull the Mustangs within 77-76, the Seahawks went 8-for-8 at the free throw line in the final two minutes while Morrisville missed its final five field goals and committed two turnovers.
Inside the Box Score
- St. Mary’s College tallied a season-best 96.2-free throw percentage, going 25-for-26 for the game as the Seahawks were 19-of-20 in the second half alone.
- Grant finished 10-of-10 at the charity stripe on his way to a season-best 18 points with 13 of those points coming in the second half. He also grabbed six rebounds in each half for a dozen, helping the Seahawks post a 36-26 rebounding margin. Grant also added a season-high five assists.
- Alexander contributed season-bests of 18 points and seven boards while first-year guard Duane Mason Jr. (Temple Hills, Md./Potomac) paced the Seahawks in the first half with 11 points before finishing the game with 13 for his fifth double-digit scoring game of the season.
- Senior forward Cameron Rucker (Silver Spring, Md./Springbrook) chipped in a dozen points as Rucker went 8-for-8 at the line.
- Morrisville shot 50.8-percent from the field as Smith finished with 17 points and Litchfield added 16 in the Mustangs’ sixth loss in a row.
Up Next for the Seahawks
- Feb. 5 at Wells (13-8, 7-5 UEC) – Aurora, N.Y. – 1:00 p.m.