St. Mary's City, Md. – The No. 24 St. Mary's College of Maryland men's basketball team started their four-game home stand on the right foot as senior captain Donn Hill (Aberdeen, Md./Bel Air) fueled the 73-62 Capital Athletic Conference victory over league newcomer, Christopher Newport University, with a career-best 23 points.

Hill shot 7-of-12 from the floor and went 8-for-8 from the free throw line while adding season-bests of eight rebounds and three steals. Three other Seahawks scored in double digits, including 14 points and five boards from senior captain Brendan McFall (Poolesville, Md./Poolesville).

Senior captain Kyle Wise (Baltimore, Md./Calvert Hall College) had a well-rounded game for St. Mary's as Wise added 12 points, a game-high five assists, three rebounds, and two steals while junior captain Nicholas LaGuerre (Baltimore, Md./Lansdowne) contributed 11 points, three assists, two steals, and two caroms to round out the Seahawk scoring.

With tonight's win, St. Mary's (13-4, 7-2 CAC) is now just half a game out of second place, sitting behind No. 12 Wesley College (15-1, 7-1 CAC) while No. 15 University of Mary Washington (15-2, 8-1 CAC) remains atop of the CAC standings.

The first half was a low-scoring affair that featured five lead changes and three tied scores. Christopher Newport came out of the gates firing as the Captains jumped out to a 5-0 lead – their biggest lead of the contest.

A McFall three-pointer at 13:27 handed St. Mary's its first lead of the game before CNU rebuilt its five-point advantage as senior Tra Benefield (Folkston, Ga./Evangel Christian [Va.]) capped an eight-minute 12-6 run with a three-pointer of his own. Another three-point shot gave the Seahawks a 26-23 lead at 3:03 before first-year forward Tim Daly (Richmond, Va./James River) cut the lead to one at 2:29.

St. Mary's headed into the locker room with the 26-25 advantage as the offense both sides stalled in the 2:29 of the half. McFall led all scorers at intermission with eight points while Hill notched seven points and six boards. Sophomore forward Connor Laframboise (Chesapeake, Va./Cape Henry) tallied six first-half points to pace the Captains.

The turning point of the second half happened at 14:10 when McFall drained another three to spark a 15-3 run which the lead solely in the hands of St. Mary's the rest of the way. Hill made six consecutive free throws and then made good on a jumper to establish the home team's biggest lead of the contest – 63-57 at 3:53.

Benefield finished the game with team-bests of 17 points and seven rebounds for CNU while junior guard Mike Cherry (Lewiston, N.C./Bertie) chipped in 13 points, three assists, and two steals.

St. Mary's continues its home stand on Wednesday, January 29th when the Seahawks welcome Salisbury University (7-10, 3-6 CAC) to the Michael P. O'Brien Athletics & Recreation Center Arena for a CAC tilt at 8:00 p.m.

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