GUAYNABO, P.R. – It was a tale of two halves for the St. Mary's College of Maryland men's basketball team in their final game at the Puerto Rico Clasico Tuesday evening (Dec. 19). Birmingham-Southern College (5-6) won the first half before St. Mary's College (5-6) rallied in the second stanza but came up short, 66-59, in non-conference action at the Coliseo Mario Morales.
 
How It Happened

• Within the first four minutes of the game, Birmingham-Southern rolled out to a 14-3 lead with Brandon Copeland notching 11 of the Panthers' 14 opening points.
• B-SC grew its lead to 15 (21-6) on a Copeland three-pointer at the nine-minute mark; however, a quick eight-point surge pulled St. Mary's within 23-14 on a layup by first-year guard James Lerner (Herndon, Va./Maret) with less than seven minutes to go in the half.
• The Panthers remained in control, outscoring their opponents, 13-6, in the final six minutes for a 36-20 halftime advantage.
• Birmingham-Southern stretched its lead to 21 on a Jay Gillispie layup at 16:21.
• Finding themselves down 20 with 6:40 left in regulation, the Seahawks began to claw their way back as three-point balls by sophomore forward Luke Adgei (Dumfries, Va./Saint John Paul the Great) and fifth-year captain Daryn Alexander (Twinbrook, Md./Richard Montgomery) bookended a four-minute 17-2 run.
• The run brought St. Mary's within five (59-54) with 1:23 remaining in the game.
• The Panthers edged SMCM, 7-5, in the final minute as B-SC went 7-of-8 at the free throw line to seal the win.

 
Inside the Box Score

• Birmingham-Southern held the Seahawks to a season-low 59 points.
• St. Mary's posted a season-low 28.4-field goal percentage (19-67) after only making just four field goals (4-28) in the first half.
• The Seahawks tallied a +9-turnover margin and garnered 15 points off B-SC's 11 turnovers.

 
St. Mary's College Game Notes

• First-year guard Kyree Smith (Baltimore, Md./City College) matched his career-high of 14 points and collected a career-best four steals to lead the Seahawks.
• Adgei finished with a career-best 11 points, which all came in the second half.
• Alexander grabbed a season-high 11 rebounds and added seven points and three assists.

 
Birmingham-Southern Game Notes

• Gillispie led all scorers and rebounders with a double-double on 16 points and 14 boards as the Panthers snapped a three-game skid.

 
Up Next for the Seahawks

• Dec. 22 at Loyola Maryland (1-10) – Baltimore, Md. (Reitz Arena) – 12 p.m. (Exhibition)

 
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