LANCASTER, Pa. – The 2021-22 campaign for the St. Mary’s College of Maryland men’s basketball team ended Friday night in the semifinals of the 2022 United East Conference Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament. No. 3 St. Mary’s College (13-10) came up short in a 77-67 loss to No. 2 seed Penn State Harrisburg (22-3) on the campus of top-seeded Lancaster Bible College.
How It Happened
- The contest was neck-and-neck throughout the majority of the first half with six lead changes and two tied scores.
- First-year guard Duane Mason Jr. (Temple Hills, Md./Potomac) handed St. Mary’s College its final lead of the game, hitting a three-pointer with 3:09 left in the half to give the Seahawks a 30-29 advantage.
- The Lions used an 8-0 run in the final three minutes to take a 37-30 lead into the locker room at halftime.
- Back-to-back triples by Donyae Baylor-Carroll and Nate Curry stretched Harrisburg’s lead to 13 within the first minute of the second stanza.
- The Seahawks worked to outscore their opponents, 24-15, over the next 12 minutes to trim the deficit to 58-54 with 7:06 remaining in the game. Senior guard Seth Jones (Baltimore, Md./Baltimore Polytechnic) paced SMCM in its rally with 11 points.
- After closing the gap to four, St. Mary’s College lost its offensive rhythm as the Seahawks missed nine of 13 field goals and committed four turnovers while the Lions capitalized on the miscues and rebuilt a double-digit margin, leading by as many as 14 with 2:39 to go.
Inside the Box Score
- SMCM finished the game shooting 36.9-percent (24-65) from the field, including 36.4-percent (8-22) from downtown. The Seahawks also went 11-for-18 (57.9%) from the free throw line.
- The Seahawks outrebounded Harrisburg, 41-37, as sophomore forward Gary Grant (Washington, D.C./Thomas Stone [Md.]) and first-year guard Elijah Crawford (Oxon Hill, Md./Potomac) each grabbed seven boards.
- Grant also led St. Mary’s College in scoring with 15 while Jones and Crawford contributed 14 points apiece.
- Curry registered a double-double with game-highs of 25 points and 10 rebounds while Baylor-Carroll poured in 20 points, four assists, and three steals to lead Harrisburg to Saturday’s championship game against Lancaster Bible, a 94-80 winner over No. 4 seed Wells College.
Up Next for the Seahawks
- Season Complete