Fredericksburg, Va. – Three players on the No. 14 St. Mary's College of Maryland men's basketball team scored in double digits Wednesday night as the Seahawks held on for a 58-54 Capital Athletic Conference victory over the University of Mary Washington Eagles.
St. Mary's (15-2, 4-1 CAC) staked a 41-31 advantage at 15:20 following a 12-2 start to the second half as junior guards Donn Hill (Aberdeen, Md./Bel Air) and Brendan McFall (Poolesville, Md./Poolesville) each scored four points in the run. Back-to-back three-pointers by sophomore forward E.J. Willis (Alexandria, Va.) ignited an 8-0 spurt that helped the Eagles (7-9, 1-4 CAC) pull within two at 11:11.
The Seahawks built up their lead back to seven twice within a 47-second span but Mary Washington stayed close, cutting the deficit to four five times in four minutes before a Willis layup closed the gap to 57-54 with 15 ticks on the clock.
Senior guard James Davenport (Baltimore, Md./Loyola-Blakefield) made it a two-possession game as Davenport knocked down one of two free throws with 11 seconds left. Willis corralled the missed free throw but his jumper was off the mark as time expired.
Sophomore guard Nick LaGuerre (Baltimore, Md./Lansdowne) finished the night as the Seahawks' leading scorer and rebounder with a game-high 16 points and career-best eight rebounds while McFall contributed 12 points and senior forward Jeff Haus (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) added 10 points off the bench along with eight with boards.
The first half was pretty even between the two teams with neither side leading by more than five at any given time. After Hill gave St. Mary's a 22-18 lead with 3:15 to go in the first 20 minutes, the Eagles outscored the visitors 11-7, including a three-pointer by junior guard Dylan Farinet (Westmoreland, Va.) at the buzzer, to head into the locker room deadlocked at 29-all.
LaGuerre netted 12 of his 16 points in the first half to lead all players while Hill grabbed five of his eight rebounds in the first 20 minutes. Farinet paced Mary Washington with seven points and three caroms.
Sophomore guard Taylor Johnson (Ashburn, Va.) finished as the Eagles' leading scorer with 12 points while first-year forward Sean Armstrong (Richmond, Va.) tallied 10 points and eight boards.
The Seahawks look to keep the winning going on Saturday, January 19 when St. Mary's welcomes Salisbury University to the Michael P. O'Brien Athletics & Recreation Center Arena for a conference match-up at 4:00 pm.
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