Lancaster, Pa. – Junior captain Nicholas LaGuerre (Baltimore, Md./Lansdowne) and sophomore forward Troy Spurrier (Mt. Airy, Md./Glenelg) led the No. 12 St. Mary's College of Maryland men's basketball team to a 64-61 non-conference win over Franklin & Marshall College Saturday afternoon.

The Seahawks (3-1) overcame a first-half deficit and then held on for their third consecutive victory as LaGuerre paced the team with 14 points while Spurrier matched his career-high with 13.

Franklin & Marshall (2-4) never trailed in the first half as the Diplomats jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the first three minutes before LaGuerre put St. Mary's on the board at 16:45 with a layup. F&M maintained a steady lead over the Seahawks throughout, holding a 32-24 advantage with three minutes left in the half.

Spurrier sparked a 7-0 run in the final 2:42 minutes, scoring six points and collecting an offensive board and a steal to have St. Mary's within one at halftime. LaGuerre and Spurrier each had seven first-half points as the Seahawks shot nearly 42% (10-of-24) from the field. Three Diplomats scored eight points apiece to lead Franklin & Marshall at intermission.

St. Mary's carried its first-half momentum into the second stanza, using a 9-4 run to stake its first lead of the game – 40-36 at 14:50 for its biggest advantage of the game. Franklin & Marshall regained control three minutes later and boasted a seven-point lead at 11:51 following a layup by junior guard Morgan Lee (Brooklyn, N.Y.).

A LaGuerre three-pointer at 7:14 returned a one-point lead to his team while senior forward Brendan McFall (Poolesville, Md./Poolesville) stretched the Seahawk lead to 58-54 with a three-pointer of his own at 4:43. Senior guard Jon Salandra (Harrison, N.Y.) notched six of the Diplomats' final seven points to have them up 61-60 with 1:11 remaining.

The Seahawks went 4-for-4 at the line in a 12-second span to take the lead for good while back-to-back steals by Spurrier and McFall sealed the win. The defense demonstrated by St. Mary's in the final seconds proved tough to handle by the Diplomats throughout the game as the Seahawks forced 20 turnovers and collected 15 steals.

Salandra posted a double-double for F&M with 20 points and 11 rebounds while Lee finished with 15 points.

The Seahawks will take their three-game win streak into their Capital Athletic Conference opener at Salisbury University on Wednesday, December 4th at 7:30 pm.

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