GWYNEDD VALLEY, PA. -- Behind a game-high 30 points from MVP Courtney Cubbage, the Gwynedd Mercy Men's Basketball team captured the 2019 Atlantic East Conference Championship with a 75-69 victory over Marymount Saturday afternoon at The Griffin Complex.

Cubbage was 12-of-15 from the floor, adding seven rebounds and a pair of steals. The senior was also a perfect 5-for-5 at the free-throw line.

With the win, the top-seeded Griffins secure the first-ever title in conference history and now await a likely at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Clayton Wolfe added 18 points and nine boards while Rich Dunham kicked in 15 points as GMercyU shot 62% in the second half, while opening the frame on a 12-0 run to erase a two-point halftime deficit.

Xavier Reaves netted 17 points off the bench for the third-seeded Saints. Brandon Rodgers hit four of the team's 10 three-pointers to end with 14 points.

In that first half, the Griffins did not hit a three while shooting just under 42% in the stanza (13-of-31). Both teams kept each other close, with no team leading by more than six and a half that saw eight lead changes. Gwynedd worked to get out to a 12-6 advantage, but back-to-back three's from Marymount's Reaves and Roey Stern tied things up with just over 11 minutes to go in the period. Steve Etienne's jumper in the paint with 1:49 helped give Marymount a 33-31 score at the break.

Matt Sommers drained a big three to start the second half and more importantly, ignite a scoring stretch that would keep them in front for the rest of the game. Dunham fed a streaking Cubbage off a steal to give Gwynedd its first double-digit lead of the game (51-41) with 14 minutes to go.

The lead grew to as much as 14 twice, the last occasion coming with 3:42 on the clock, but the Saints did not go marching out quietly. Buckets from Reaves and Taiga Walker on consecutive possessions pulled Marymount to 71-64 with 25 seconds to play. Wolfe helped seal the outcome, hitting all four of his attempts at the line as the team was 12-for-16 in the second half and 17-of-21 for the game.