BALTIMORE, Md. – Sophomore guard James Lerner's (Herndon, Va./Maret) three-pointer in the final two seconds propels the St. Mary's College of Maryland men's basketball team to their second United East Conference victory Wednesday night (Dec. 4). St. Mary's College (4-3, 2-0 UEC) leaves Baltimore with a 70-67 triumph over Notre Dame of Maryland University (2-4, 1-1 UEC).
 
Tonight's contest featured a 'teacher vs. student' matchup as Notre Dame's second-year Head Coach TJ Jordan played for SMCM's 20-year Head Coach Chris Harney '97 during Coach Harney's first three years (2005-2008) at the helm of the Seahawk men's basketball program. Coach Jordan graduated from St. Mary's College in 2008 with a B.A. in political science.
 
How It Happened

• Jamal Lee knotted the game at 67-all with 14 ticks on the clock as Lee grabbed his own rebound and finished off the layup for the 11th tie of the contest.
• The Seahawks called a 30-second timeout and derived the game-winning play, setting up for Lerner's heroics. Lerner collected the pass from sophomore guard Kyree Smith (Baltimore, Md./City) and drained the three-point jumper with two seconds to go.
• Following a 30-second timeout by Notre Dame, Lee put up an off-the-mark three-point shot as time expired and was unable to send the game into extra time.
• The first half ended in a 30-30 draw as neither team shot above 35-percent from the field. SMCM's biggest lead of the game came at the 17:48 mark of the first half when a Smith layup gave his team a 10-3 lead.
• Corwin Holland II connected on a three-point shot for a 56-48 Gator advantage with 8:42 left in the game, the hosts' biggest lead of the game. St. Mary's College reclaimed a 65-60 advantage with 2:21 remaining in regulation on another Smith bucket before a 7-2 NDMU run over a two-minute span brought on the 67-67 deadlock.

 
Inside the Box Score

• The Seahawks matched a season-high 10 blocks as first-year forward Yassine Idrissa (Rockville, Md./Wootton) turned away a career-best eight shots.
• For the second time this season, the Seahawks won the rebounding battle as SMCM posted a 32-23 rebounding margin. Smith and Idrissa each hauled in a game-best nine boards to lead the effort.
• St. Mary's College finished the game shooting 46.0-percent following a 55.2-field goal percentage during the second half.
• The Gators ended the game with a 40.6-field goal percentage after shooting 51.7-percent over the final 20 minutes.

 
St. Mary's College Game Notes

• Smith poured in a game-best 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting and 5-of-5 at the free throw line.
• Idrissa added 16 points to his nine caroms and eight blocks.
• Lerner contributed 12 points, three assists, and three rebounds.

 
Notre Dame (Md.) Game Notes

• Holland, Jackson Pugh, and Chandler Johnson each tallied 11 points to lead the Gators in their first conference loss of the season.

 
Up Next for the Seahawks

• Dec. 7 vs. Valley Forge (6-4, 1-1 UEC) – St. Mary's City, Md. (MPOARC Arena) – 3 pm

 
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