Arlington, Va. – Marymount University's men's basketball team upset 17th-ranked Wesley 80-73 to win its Capital Athletic Conference opener on Wednesday night. The Saints improve to 6-1 overall and 1-0 in league play.
Five Saints scored in double-figures, led by JC Hoellich with a game-high 19. Jesse Konadu added 17, Antonio Rouse had 16, Reed Scott chipped in 11 and Michael Anderson added 10 off the bench.
A back-and-forth affair for the first 10 minutes of the game saw five ties and three lead changes in that span. Konadu's driving layup at the 10:03 mark would regain the lead for the Blue and White and spark 15-4 run over a six minute span to give MU a 35-23 lead with just under four minutes to play. Wesley (5-1, 1-1 CAC) then closed the half with an 8-3 run of its own, taking advantage of a put-back at the buzzer to cut Marymount's halftime lead down to just 38-32.
The Wolverines came out of the break looking to build on their momentum and chipped the Marymount lead down to 46-45 at the 14:30 mark. Not willing to back down, the Saints responded by posting an 8-0 run to take their biggest lead of the half up 54-45 with 11:34 remaining.
Wesley wouldn't allow MU to pull away, but the Saints held on to a two-possession lead for the next eight minutes before a Wolverine three-pointer pulled the visitors within two points at 71-69 with 3:05 to go.
The Saints looked to Hoellich to put the game away down the stretch, feeding the big man down low for the next two MU baskets for a 75-69 lead with less than a minute to go. Wesley pushed down the court and scored quickly on its ensuing possession but a heads-up, court-long inbounds pass from Scott to Rouse ended with an old-fashioned three-point play to put the game out of reach while Marymount closed things out at the free throw line.
Wayne Lennon led Wesley with 17 points.
Marymount returns to the hardwood on Saturday as it hosts CAC rival Mary Washington. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. and fans can follow the action live by logging on to www.marymount.edu/athletics/mBasketball and selecting the "live stats" and "live video" links.