DANVILLE, Va. – The St. Mary's College of Maryland men's basketball team opened the 2025-26 campaign Friday night (Nov. 7) with a road victory. St. Mary's College (1-0) posted a 74-68 non-conference triumph over Averett University (0-1) as sophomore James Crimaudo (Riva, Md./South River) poured in a career-best 23 points.
 
How It Happened

• The first half featured nine lead changes and five tied scores. The Seahawks' biggest advantage of the half was 12-7 at the 14:28-mark when first-year guard Korey Blair (Baltimore, Md./Overlea) hit a two-point shot in the paint.
• SMCM headed into halftime with a 31-30 lead behind a pair of free throws from sophomore guard Sekou Bangoura (Olney, Md./Magruder) with 27 seconds left in the first stanza.
• St. Mary's College stayed in front through the first five minutes of the second half, owning a six-point margin at 17:31 behind a Bangoura layup.
• Averett worked a 14-6 run, thanks to a combined 14 points from Jackson Sellars (8 pts) and Josh Seiler, over a four-minute span to claim a 49-47 edge at 13:38. A third Seiler three-pointer handed the Cougars their biggest lead of the second frame, 59-54, with 9:20 remaining in the game.
• Three consecutive baskets by first-year forward Evan Quintero (Fallston, Md./Gilman), Crimaudo, and Blair helped the Seahawks retake the lead by two at 6:58.
• Crimaudo's triple at 5:11 snapped a 96-second lull by both teams and locked in SMCM's hold of the lead, closing out the game on a 13-7 run for the first win of 2025-26.

 
Inside the Box Score

• St. Mary's College earned 30 points from 19 Cougar turnovers while the hosts only picked up 15 points off 20 Seahawk miscues.
• The Seahawks tallied 44 points in the paint to Averett's 28 while holding a 39-32 rebounding margin.
• Averett made only half of its 22 free throw attempts and relied on its outside shooting to stay in the game, hitting nine of 23 three-pointers attempted.

 
St. Mary's College Game Notes

• In addition to his game-best 23 points, Crimaudo pulled in seven rebounds and dished out a career-high two assists.
• Blair finished with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting and two assists in his collegiate debut while senior captain Jake Koverman (Severna Park, Md./Southern) contributed 10 points, a game-high nine boards, a career-best four steals, and two dimes.

 
Averett Game Notes

• Timayahs Bracey put up 20 points to lead the Cougars in their home- and season-opener while Sellars finished with 15 plus seven assists and six caroms. Seiler added 13 points off the bench.

 
Up Next for the Seahawks

• Nov. 10 at Greensboro (0-0) – Greensboro, N.C. (Hanes Gymnasium) – 6:30 pm

 
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