St. Mary's City, Md. – Senior guard Alex Franz (Catonsville, Md./Cardinal Gibbons) netted nine of the Seahawks 11 points in the extra period in leading the No. 14 St. Mary's College of Maryland men's basketball team to an 81-77 overtime victory over York College of Pennsylvania in Capital Athletic Conference action Wednesday night.
York's senior guard Kevin Whaley (Dover, Pa./Dover) was fouled on a three-point shot and connected on all three free throws to knot up the game at 75-all with 1:48 remaining in overtime. Franz made four straight free throws of his own to give the Seahawks a 79-75 edge at 00:13. Junior guard James Davenport (Owings Mills, Md./Loyola Blakefield) sealed the win with two free throws with five seconds left.
Franz finished the night with 20 points and went 8-of-9 from the charity stripe while adding seven rebounds and five assists. First-year center Christian MacAuley (Silver Spring, Md./Paint Branch) had a phenomenal night with his second double-double of the season on season-highs of 18 points, including 14 in the first half, and 15 rebounds along with five blocks. Davenport matched his season-best with 13 points off the bench while senior captain Sam Burum (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) chipped in 11.
St. Mary's (6-2, 2-0 CAC) and York (5-3, 2-1 CAC) opened up the game by trading baskets in the first five-and-a-half minutes before the Spartans went on a 15-8 run to lead 22-15 with 8:43 remaining in the first half. MacAuley's three-point play at 8:09 sparked the Seahawks to an 8-2 run to reclaim the lead at 5:25. York went on to close the half on an 11-4 run to hold a 35-31 halftime lead.
With 2:59 remaining in regulation, the Seahawks needed to overcome a seven-point deficit. Six straight points by Franz capped a 9-0 run to give his team a 70-68 lead at 1:06. Whaley was fouled but missed the second of his two free throws at 00:44 to maintain a one-point Seahawk lead.
York then went 0-for-2 from the floor while the Seahawks were 0-of-2 from the charity stripe in the next 41 seconds before Whaley was fouled again. But again, he missed the second of his two free throws to send the game into overtime.
Whaley, the reigning CAC Co-Men's Basketball Player of the Week, paced York with 16 points and five rebounds while junior forward Paul Kouvaris (Baltimore, Md./Cardinal Gibbons) had 14 and 7. Sophomore guards Mo Oursler (Middletown, Md./Middletown) and Julian Watson (Odenton, Md./Arundel) each chipped in 12 points.
St. Mary's will back home this Saturday, December 11 to continue Capital Athletic Conference action with Hood College in the second half of Saturday afternoon's league doubleheader. The men tip-off at 4:00 pm following the completion of the women's game that begins at 2:00 pm.