Frostburg, Md. – Thirteen was not unlucky for the No. 13 St. Mary's College of Maryland men's basketball team Saturday afternoon as the Seahawks held off a late rally by the host Frostburg State University Bobcats. St. Mary's posted a 96-89 Capital Athletic Conference victory over Frostburg State as senior guard Devin Spencer (Baltimore, Md./Towson Catholic) poured in a season-best 26 points.
The Seahawks' 13th consecutive victory was seemingly in hand as St. Mary's (13-1, 3-0 CAC) owned a 25-point advantage with 5:08 left in the contest. Frostburg State (5-9, 1-2 CAC) began to downsize its deficit quickly as senior DeSean Antoine (Odenton, Md./Glen Burnie) scored nine points in a 13-0 Bobcat run in less than two minutes.
Senior forward Jeff Haus (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) ended the scoreless drought for the Seahawks with his layup at 3:07. The Bobcats continued to work and pulled within eight on an Antoine three-pointer with 12 ticks on the clock but luckily for St. Mary's, time ran out on Frostburg. The Seahawks went 11-of-13 from the free throw line down the stretch.
Spencer shot 6-of-12 from the floor, including a 4-of-9 effort from downtown, while being a perfect 10-of-10 from the charity stripe, including 8-of-8 in the final 1:35 of the game. Four other Seahawks joined Spencer in double-digit scoring, including sophomore guard Nick LaGuerre (Baltimore, Md./Lansdowne) who picked up his first career double-double on 10 points and career-best 11 assists.
Junior guard Brendan McFall (Poolesville, Md./Poolesville) added a career-high 16 points and six rebounds for the Seahawks while junior guard Donn Hill (Aberdeen, Md./Bel Air) contributed 14. Haus rounded out the scoring for St. Mary's with 10 points and team-best seven boards off the bench.
Frostburg controlled the first few minutes of the game as senior Christian Jackson (Forestville, Md.) connected on his only three-pointer of the contest to put the Bobcats ahead 13-8 at 14:15. The Seahawks turned it around after a 30-second timeout with a 28-10 run to lead by 13 with 5:20 left in the first half.
The Bobcats never lead again as St. Mary's cruised to a 50-39 halftime advantage behind McFall's 10 first-half points while LaGuerre had nine. As a team, the Seahawks shot 57.1% in the first half and only committed six miscues.
Jackson paced FSU with a double-double on 26 points and game-best 13 rebounds while Antoine finished with 26 as well off the bench.
The Seahawks will be back in action on Monday, January 7 as St. Mary's hosts No. 17 Franklin & Marshall College in non-conference play at 7:00 pm in the Michael P. O'Brien Athletics & Recreation Center Arena.
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