Coming off an 11-12 campaign from a year ago, St. Mary’s is looking to return to its traditional role as a title contender in MIAA B Conference basketball. Judging by the early returns, including Thursday’s impressive 67-53 home win over Gilman, one of the league’s preseason favorites, the Saints are on track.
Going against a much larger Greyhound lineup, St. Mary’s employed a four guard set and beat Gilman with quickness, racing out to a 13-1 lead with a variety of fast break opportunities and excellent back door cuts.
The first quarter ended with St. Mary’s in front 24-9 and that lead was never seriously challenged the rest of the way.
Taylor Hurst led the Saints (3-0, 2-0) with 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists, while junior point guard Tevin Johnson scored 13 points while collecting five rebounds, three assists and three steals. In addition Mike Wilde scored 14 points for St. Mary’s.
Giman received points from just five players with juniors CJ Jones and Ryan Ripken combining for 33 to lead the way. Ripken added five rebounds and Jones had seven assists, five steals and six rebounds. In addition, senior Chad Copeland also added 14 points for Gilman.
Playing its league opener, Gilman fell to 0-3 overall in the young season.
| St. Mary’s 67, Gilman 53 | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Gilman: Jones 17, Ripken 16, Copeland 14, Montgomery 2, Matthai 6. | ||||||||||||||||||
| St. Mary’s: Wilde 14, Hurst 21, Johnson 13, Usewick 4, Brown 6, Downs 4, Tower 2, Hope 1. |
