The Basics

• CSAC Semifinal Final Score: Gwynedd Mercy 92, Rosemont 84
• Records: Rosemont 13-14, Gwynedd Mercy 20-6
• Ravens trailed entire game, but cut deficit to only four points in second half before Griffins pulled away down the stretch
• The game had a stunted flow, interrupted by 60 personal fouls and 79 free throw attempts from both teams combined
• A total of three Ravens and two Griffins fouled out of the game
• Location: Gwynedd Valley, Pa. – Griffin Complex

How It Happened

• The Griffins had the Ravens under pressure for much of the first half, but the Ravens stubbornly stayed within striking distance of the #1 seeded Griffins. Trailing by a point with 16:13 on the clock in the first half, GMU went on a 6-0 run to increase their lead to 12-5 with 13:42 left. Still trailing by eight points with 12:22 on the clock the Ravens put together a 6-0 run of their own to get back to within a pair, trailing 17-15 with 11:10 remaining in the first. The Griffins's Julian Hyden and Rosemont's Itay Levy traded triples to keep the Rosemont down by only two points before a couple of free throws and a bucket by GMU's Cedric Elleby put the Griffins back up by six, 24-18 with 7:16 left in the half.
• Rosemont would hang around, trailing by five points with 6:26 left in the half, when Gwynedd Mercy started to get some separation by outscoring the Ravens 11-2 to gain a double-digit lead of 14 points, 37-23 with four minutes left in the half. A Marcus Thomas trey from the left baseline from ended the scoring in the half with the Ravens trailing the Griffins, 41-31.
• The home side managed to hold the Ravens at bay for the first part of the second half, but held a 15-point lead (51-36) with 18:10 left in the game. The Ravens showed some fight from that point, outscoring GMU 13-4 to scratch back to within only six points of the lead, trailing 55-49 with 14:45 on the clock. Plenty of time to make a run for the lead. With 12 ½ minutes remaining, Rosemont trimmed the deficit to only five points after a Marcus Thomas layup, but the Griffins would rebound with a 10-0 run to up their lead to 15 points, 69-54 midway through the half.
• Not to be outdone, the Ravens rallied and went on a tear against the #1 seeded GMU, outscoring the Griffins 11-0 in less than three elapsed minutes to sneak back to within only four points with 7:09 on the clock, and forcing the Griffins to call for a timeout. A Kyle Lafferty putback kept the Ravens close, trailing 72-67 with 5:23 on the clock, but Gwynedd Mercy would answer with a timely 7-0 run to grab a 12-point lead with 3:14 on the clock. Still trailing by ten points with 1 ½ minutes left, the Ravens refused to go away for the night. A pair of free throws each from Marcus Thomas and Jamier Hughes would cut the lead down to two possessions (six points) with 1:09 remaining. But down the stretch the Ravens wouldn't be able to get any closer to the Griffins as the clock wound down to end the season for Rosemont.

Coach Hughes Comments

• Asked about the choppy pace of the game because of all of the called fouls: "The pace of the game hurt us because we had important players in foul trouble. It's not an excuse, but it's the reality." 
• Asked about chopping the deficit to only four points in the second half: "From that point, Gwynedd Mercy got some stops down the stretch. They are a great offensive team."
• Asked about how the Griffins defended Marcus Thomas: "They were double-teaming Marcus at times, and their defense frustrated him overall. They did a tremendous job covering him, and you have to give them credit for such intelligent defending."
• Asked about the end of the season: "This team was a tremendous group. They worked hard and distinguished themselves both on and off the court. They brought a smile to my face every day, and the saddest part is that I won't get to work with this particular group any longer."

Ravens' Top Performers

• Jamier Hughes shot 11-for-13 from the foul line, helping him to score 18 points. His 12 rebounds earned him a double-double.
• The CSAC Player-of-the-Year, Marcus Thomas shot 9-for-12 from the charity stripe to help him tally 16 points on the night. He also had seven rebounds and six assists.
• Kyle Lafferty hit on 5-for-11 from the field, and was a perfect 2-for-2 from beyond the arc, scoring 12 points on the evening.
• Charles Presley added 10 points to the Ravens' total.

For the Griffins

• Cedric Elleby scored 30 points, going 10-for-14 both from the field and from the line. He led the Griffins with nine rebounds.
• Darnell Artis hit on 9-for-10 at the line, helping him to score 16 points.
• Brian Hennessey (15), Julian Hyden (14) and Aaron Morgan (11) were the other Griffins to score in double-figures. Hennessey and Artis led the Ravens with six assists.

Stats of the Game

• 60 personal fouls were whistled in the game, leading to five players fouling out (3 Ravens, 2 Griffins).
• Over 34% of the points scored in the game came from the charity stripe.
• Rosemont out-rebounded GMU 41-34, and had 11 more shots than the Griffins (65-54). The Griffins hit on 50% of their attempts compared to 40% for Rosemont.

Up Next

The result ends the season for the Ravens.