ARLINGTON, Va.— The Marymount (Va.) University men's basketball team overpowered Capital Athletic Conference opponent York College of Pennsylvania on Saturday afternoon, celebrating Senior Day with a 65-56 victory over the Spartans.
The Saints (9-12, 6-8 CAC) started strong on the defensive end with a quick steal by junior Michael Anderson but were unable to convert on the offensive end. Marymount's first basket came from senior Rick Narcisse, who hit a deep three for the first three points of his game-high 21 points for the game. Narcisse continued to build the momentum on the next offensive series, ripping down an offensive board for the quick put back to draw the score even at 5-5.
Senior Danny Ferry gave the Saints their first lead after hitting another three to give them the 8-5 advantage. Although York put away two free throws to draw it even again, the Saints used a 7-0 run to push their advantage to 15-8, but York didn't go away, answering with a three-point play at the other end to cut the deficit to four.
A steal by junior Pat Dumais was converted to a three-point play by Anderson to extend the Saints lead to 24-16, a part of a seven-point stretch for MU. Anderson stayed hot, hitting a three less than two minutes later to keep their eight-point advantage. Both teams continued trading points until the half ended with Marymount leading 37-34 after a three from Ferry. Anderson led the offense with 10 points in the first half, going 4-5 from the floor.
Narcisse struck first in the second half to extend the Saints lead to five. One of the biggest leads of the half came with 13:06 left on the clock after junior Jesse Longmire went 2-2 at the line to extend the advantage to seven, 48-41. York brought the game back within three minutes later after going on a 4-0 run. Marymount maintained a lead throughout most of the second half until York led briefly at 49-48. The Saints answered with back-to-back layups from Narcisse. With just over five minutes on the clock, the Spartans brought the game back within one yet again.
Narcisse continued to do work on the inside with less than five minutes left in the game, as he added another two points for the Saints. Ferry hit another crucial three to extend the Saints lead to 57-51 with 2:45 remaining in the game and spark some momentum for the blue and white. Burkhart was later sent to the line and knocked down both free throws for the 59-51 advantage.
York countered with a three and a quick timeout to cut the deficit to five, 59-54, with just 58 seconds remaining. Anderson was sent to the line next but missed the front end of a one-and-one. Narcisse managed to grab the rebound and was quickly sent to the line where he went 2-for-2. York got off a three attempt but Ferry was there for the rebound and he was the fourth Saint sent to the line. Ferry continued the streak going 2-for-2 to put the Saints up, 63-54, with 32 seconds left. The last Saint to score was Narcisse who finished a break away with a dunk to seal up a critical victory, 65-56.
The Saints recognized seniors Narcisse, Ferry and Colin Burkhart before the start of the game on their careers donning the blue and white.
The men are back in action on Wednesday, February 10, as they hit the road for a CAC matchup with Penn State University-Harrisburg. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m.