ST. MARY’S CITY, Md. — The St. Mary’s College of Maryland men’s basketball team ended their two-game losing streak with a decisive 81-58 win over Gallaudet University in United East Conference (UEC) action on Wednesday night. The victory secured a season series sweep for the Seahawks, improving their record to 10-9 overall and 6-4 in conference play.
The Seahawks never trailed, opening the game with a dominant 9-0 run. Gallaudet’s first point came from a Blessed Mbogo free throw at the 15:18 mark. St. Mary’s built its largest first-half lead at 24-6 with 7:46 remaining before halftime. However, Gallaudet capitalized on a stretch of eight Seahawk turnovers, closing the half on a 19-8 run to narrow the deficit to 32-25.
The Bison continued their comeback attempt early in the second half, trimming St. Mary’s lead to 41-37 at 14:36 following a basket by Brandon Washington. The Seahawks responded emphatically, going on a 24-9 run over the next eight minutes to extend their lead to 65-46. From there, St. Mary’s cruised to the 23-point victory.
The Seahawks shot 56.9% from the field, their second-best mark of the season, and connected on 45% of their three-point attempts, the third-best performance of the year. They also excelled at the free-throw line, converting 82.4% of their attempts (14-of-17). Defensively, St. Mary’s recorded 10 blocks for the third time this season and assisted on 19 of their 29 made field goals.
Three Seahawks—junior captain Jake Koverman, first-year Tjay Beckles, and first-year Yassine Idrissa—each tallied 19 points. Idrissa dominated the second half, scoring 17 of his points after the break, while leading the game with eight rebounds and seven blocks. He also grabbed a career-high two steals. Koverman hit a career-best five three-pointers, while Beckles contributed a career-high three steals in addition to his scoring.
Gallaudet’s Alex Ortman led all scorers with 22 points, and Brandon Chung added 11 for the Bison, who fell to 2-15 overall and 2-7 in UEC play.
St. Mary’s College returns to action on Saturday, January 25, traveling to face Valley Forge (7-11, 2-7 UEC) in Phoenixville, Pa. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. at The Pit.
