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Westminster, Md. - The defending Pride of
Maryland champions, No. 20 St. Mary's College of Maryland, began
defense of its title Friday night with an 83-56 season-opening
triumph over host McDaniel College in first round action of the
Pride of Maryland Championship presented by M&T Bank.
The next road block on the Seahawks' quest for a repeat will be
Salisbury University, who was a 65-63 win over Goucher College
tonight as well. St. Mary's will face the Sea Gulls tomorrow
night at 8:00 pm in Towson as Goucher will serve as the host for
the remaining two days of the Pride of Maryland.
St. Mary's (1-0), who started the season ranked No. 20 in the
D3hoops.com Top 25 preseason poll, never trailed following a
three-point play by senior captain Camontae
Griffin (Baltimore, Md./Dunbar) which diminished
McDaniel's early (and only) 2-0 lead at 16:41. The Seahawks
rolled to a 40-25 halftime lead as the team shot 41.9% from the
floor and made 13-of-15 free throws.
SMCM's junior captain Alex Franz (Catonsville,
Md./Cardinal Gibbons) paced all players in the first half with 12
points while sophomore forward Louis Sarris-Grau
(Huntingdon Valley, Pa./Lower Moreland) of McDaniel hauled in five
boards.
The Seahawks continued their dominance in the second half as the
reigning champions boasted a double-digit margin for the final 20
minutes, shooting 46.2% from the floor, including 57.1% from
downtown.
The St. Mary's defense did a number on the host Green Terror,
holding them to just 28.6% shooting for the game and forcing 23
turnovers.
Franz finished the game with 14 points leading
a foursome of Seahawks in double-figure scoring. Junior
center Sam Burum (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman)
tallied career-highs of 13 points, six rebounds, and three steals
while Griffin finished with a dozen points.
Junior forward Johann Jones (Severn, Md./Meade
Senior) added career-highs of 10 points, seven boards, three
assists and two steals while junior forward Kyle
Jarczynski (Bel Air, Md./Calvert Hall) hauled in a
career-best 10 caroms plus eight points.
Sarris-Grau was the Green Terror's leading
scorer with 11 points and six rebounds as well as two blocks while
sophomore center Woody Butler (Smithsburg,
Md./Middletown) contributed nine points and a team-high eight
boards.
