Arlington, Va. - (1/17/2024) - An early Gwynedd Mercy University (9-8, 2-2) lead melted quickly as Marymount University (10-6, 4-0) led most of the way in a 39-35 first half spread and eventually claimed tonight's Atlantic East Conference (AEC) prize by an 81-77 final. Senior guards JoHaan Vinson (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Aziz Parker (Westampton, N.J.) headlined the Griffin effort, but junior guard Aquil Stewart (Philadelphia, Pa.) added a silver lining to the loss with the 1,000th point on his collegiate career coming just before the two-minute mark of the second half; 73-70 (2:01).

Griffin Highlights

• Gwynedd Mercy University shot better than Marymount University from the field - 27-of-60 (.450) to 24-of-57 (.421) - but let the Saints reach the free throw line way too often (26-of-47, .553) in a game that saw 40 points come on the fastbreak and 42 points scored at the charity stripe.
• The Griffins shot much better in the second half - 15-of-29 (.517) to 12-of-31 (.387) - but consistent good from the free throw line, hitting 8-of-9 (.889) from the free throw line in each half.
• Vinson was 7-of-14 (.500) from the field and a perfect 5-of-5 (1.000) from the free throw line in a 21-point performance. He also recorded four rebounds, three assists, a block, and a steal.
• Meanwhile, Parker was 6-of-14 (.429) from the field and 1-of-2 (.500) from the free throw line in a 16-point effort. He completed his stat line with with team-highs rebounds (7) and assists (4).
• Stewart added two assists and a steal to his milestone evening.

Gwynedd Mercy University continues their AEC schedule on Saturday, January 20, with a 3:00 p.m. tip-off versus Immaculata University.