Arlington, Va. – An instant classic unfolded on Saturday afternoon as the Marymount men's basketball team narrowly outlasted Christopher Newport, 62-60. The nail-biter saw the Saints defend their perfect 7-0 record at the Verizon Sports Arena and move into sole occupancy of first place within CAC standings.
With the clutch win, the Saints improve to 13-2 on the season and 7-1 in league play.
Senior guard Jesse Konadu continued to be a pivotal performer for Marymount, registering a game-high 15 points in the victory. Classmate JC Hoellich posted his team-leading fifth double-double of the season with his ten points and 11 rebounds. Freshman D'Ondre Stockman and senior Antonio Rouse rounded out the offense with 12 and ten points, respectively.
The Saints found themselves down by as much as 12 about halfway through the opening frame – a rather bleak 23-11 showing on the scoreboard with 10:37 remaining.
Marymount strung together a quick 8-2 run to cut the deficit to just six, 25-19, but the Captains seemed relatively unfazed. The visitors swiftly reached and then maintained a firm eight-point lead over the next several minutes, despite the point-for-point parley underway. It was back-to-back buckets from Rouse and Hoellich that brought Marymount within four, 31-27, with just 2:10 on the clock – forcing a CNU timeout.
Following the brief pause, the squads traded baskets quickly before the Captains drilled a buzzer-beating triple to tote a 36-29 lead into the break.
A shot-for-shot affair kicked off the second frame, with Christopher Newport always remaining about four or five points ahead.
Once again, it was Rouse and Hoellich who converted back-to-back layups at the 9:43 mark to cut the deficit to just one, 46-45. Moments later, with 7:52 remaining, Konadu fired from beyond the arc to knot the game at 48-48.
The game would see four more ties and five more lead changes before the Saints finally climbed on top – courtesy of back-to-back layups from Hoellich at the 1:33 mark. The visitors converted a layup on their next possession, however, and Marymount would tow a paper-thin 61-60 lead into the game's final sixty seconds.
The Saints threatened to extend that narrow lead, but a turnover with just 34 seconds left saw the Captains in possession with a chance to win. Mike Cherry drove to the hoop for CNU, though his attempt would prove to be in vain. Freshman Alex Danko – at 6' 6" – threw his hands up and completely denied what would be the Captains' last hoorah.
A single tally from the charity stripe gave the Saints the extra point and sealed the deal at 62-60.
Marymount returns to action on Wednesday as it travels to Penn State Harrisburg for a midweek CAC battle. Tipoff is slated for 8 p.m.