ST. MARY'S CITY, Md. - Mike Fitzpatrick scored all of his game-high 13 points in the second half to rally St. Mary's (Md.) College of Maryland past visiting Guilford College, 70-65, Wednesday night.
The Seahawks (9-3) overcame a five-point halftime deficit to extend their home-court regular-season winning streak to 35 games.
The tightly played affair saw 10 ties and 13 lead changes. Guilford (8-3) held a 61-58 edge with four minutes left in regulation before Kyle Wise's three-pointer knotted the game at 61 and his two free throws 34 seconds later put the hosts up, 63-61. Guilford's Gabriel Lowder tied the game for the 10th and final time with a jumper at the 2:26 mark. Devin Spencer put St. Mary's ahead for good with the Seahawks' seventh and final three-pointer of the half.
Two Carson Sullivan free throws with 1:20 left pulled the Quakers to within 66-65, but Fitzpatrick and Spencer closed the game with two free throws apiece in the final 21 seconds.
Spencer and Fitzpatrick shared game-high scoring honors with 13 points apiece. Both students also had three three-pointers apiece, which helped the Seahawks to 11 trifectas as a team. St. Mary's shot just under 48 percent (11-23) from beyond the arc, as compared to the Quakers' five-for-17 (29.4%) three-point shooting. Brendan McFall added 12 points off the bench for St. Mary's, which helped the Seahawks' reserves outscore their Guilford counterparts, 33-18.
Lowder and Sullivan both scored 12 points to pace Guilford. Josh Pittman netted all 11 of his points in the second half and teammate Justin Stafford added a season-high 10 points. Brad Monroe recorded a game-high eight boards for the Quakers.
Guilford turns around and heads south 650 miles to Atlanta, Ga., where the Quakers play fifth-ranked Emory University Saturday (12/31) at 1:00 p.m. The Eagles take an 8-0 record into Thursday night's home game with Rhodes College.