ST. MARY'S CITY, Md. – All five starters for the St. Mary's College of Maryland men's basketball team finished Friday night (Nov. 8) scoring in double-figures in the home- and season-opener for the Seahawks. Despite the balanced attack, St. Mary's College (0-1) opened the 2024-25 campaign with an 87-78 non-conference loss to Goucher College (1-0).
 
How It Happened

• It was a tight game throughout the first half with 11 lead changes and four tied scores. After Goucher gained a 15-14 lead at the 13:01 mark, SMCM used a 14-1 run over a four-minute span to establish its largest lead of the game at 9:11 including five straight points by junior captain Jake Koverman (Severna Park, Md./Southern) to end the run.
• The Gophers closed out the half strong, outscoring the hosts, 21-8, to stake a 37-36 lead at the break. Liech Kong and Jacob Morgan tallied seven points apiece in the run with each one knocking down a three-pointer.
• Goucher grew its lead to as many as six early in the second half, but St. Mary's College continued to hang around and on a Koverman three-point shot, the Seahawks regained a 55-54 with 11:19 remaining.
• First-year forward Yassine Idrissa (Rockville, Md./Wootton) drained a pair of free throws for SMCM's final lead of the game, 61-60, at 7:37 before the visitors pulled away for good, closing out the game on a 27-17 run for the season-opening win.

 
Inside the Box Score

• Points off turnovers (17) and points in the paint (38) were equal for both teams.
• The Gophers picked up a 36-33 rebounding margin and posted a 52.6-field goal percentage for the game, including connecting on half of their 14 three-pointers taken.

 
St. Mary's College Game Notes

• Sophomore guard James Lerner (Herndon, Va./Maret) paced the starters with a career-best 19 points as Lerner was 5-of-6 from the field, including 3-of-4 from downtown.
• In his collegiate debut, Idrissa recorded his first career double-double with 10 points and game-best 10 rebounds while adding four assists.
• Koverman finished the night with 17 points and six rebounds while sophomore guard Ree Smith (Baltimore, Md./City College HS) contributed 13 points, and first-year guard Tjay Beckles (Baltimore, Md./Overlea) scored 10 as well in his debut.

 
Goucher Game Notes

• Morgan led all scorers with 22 points while Kong and Jaden Workman each added 19 points. Kong also grabbed a team-best eight boards.

 
Up Next for the Seahawks

• Nov. 12 at Salisbury (0-1) – Salisbury, Md. (Maggs Physical Activities Center) – 8 pm

 
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