St. Mary’s (5-6) will carry this momentum with them on Wednesday night as the Seahawks resume Capital Athletic Conference action against York (Pa.) College in York, PA at 8:00. Immaculata hopes pick up its second win of the season on January 11 against conference foe Gwynedd-Mercy at 7:00.
Immaculata staked a 5-0 lead in the opening 33 seconds of the game and controlled the contest for the first nine minutes before a 16-8 Seahawk run put St. Mary’s ahead for good. With the Seahawks leading by six at 8:38, the Mighty Macs used a three-pointer by Dan Lepone and a pair of free throws from Kyle Finklea to come within one (29-28) in a span of 1:05.
The Seahawks used a 15-1 run to distance them from Immaculata and take a 41-34 halftime lead into the locker room. Finklea, who was named to the All-Tournament Team, paced all players with his 15 first half points. Finklea finished the game as the Mighty Macs leading scorer with 19.
Immaculata was unable to overcome its deficit in the second half as St. Mary’s 50.0% (5-10) shooting percentage from behind the arc proved to be the difference and the Seahawks led by double-digits for the remaining 10:21 following a tip-in by Lesesne.
SMCM’s biggest lead of 21 came with 28 ticks left on the clock as freshman guard Adam Harris connected on two free throws
The Seahawks only missed on free throw the entire game, going 17-of-18 for 94.4%. SMCM also finished with an impressive 46.7% from downtown and were paced by senior Valdez Preston and junior guard Mike Smelkinson as each connected on three treys apiece.
Smelkinson earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team as he contributed 18 today off the bench and finished the tournament with a total of 31 points. The Long Reach native also dished out seven assists. Senior guard Dan Engelstad added 15. Sophomore Calvin Wise chipped in 11 and seven rebounds.
Jayson Hyman had 17 points, while Robert Jones collected 10 points and six rebounds for Immaculata. The Mighty Macs finished the game shooting 38.7% from the floor, including 28.6% from downtown.
Newspaper Box Score St. Mary's (Md.) vs Immaculata University 01/06/07 2:00 pm at Center Valley, PA (Billera Hall) At Center Valley, PA (Billera Hall) ST. MARY'S (MD.) 86, IMMACULATA UNIVERSITY 67 ST. MARY'S (MD.) (5-6) Tyson Lesesne 7-12 6-6 22; Mike Smelkinson 5-8 5-5 18; Dan Engelstad 6-12 3-4 15; Calvin Wise 5-9 1-1 11; Valdez Preston 3-4 0-0 9; Kyle Sullivan 3-6 0-0 6; T.J. Jordan 1-5 0-0 3; Adam Harris 0-1 2-2 2; Mike Selckmann 0-3 0-0 0; Jack Leathers 0-1 0-0 0; Alex Irmer 0-2 0-0 0; Kenny Tetteh 0-0 0-0 0; Thomas Cosgrove 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-64 17-18 86. IMMACULATA UNIVERSITY (1-9) Kyle Finklea 6-15 5-6 19; Jayson Hyman 6-12 4-4 17; Robert Jones' 5-8 0-0 10; Dan Lepone 3-8 0-0 8; Reggie Strickland 2-6 4-5 8; Sean Fordham 1-3 0-0 3; Joe Slavick 1-1 0-1 2; Jeff DeSantis 0-1 0-2 0; Julius Lopez 0-5 0-0 0; Scott Marston 0-1 0-0 0; Durrell Harris 0-0 0-0 0; Kris Behm 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 24-62 13-18 67. St. Mary's (Md.).............. 41 45 - 86 Immaculata University......... 34 33 - 67 3-point goals--St. Mary's (Md.) 9-19 (Valdez Preston 3-4; Mike Smelkinson 3-5; Tyson Lesesne 2-3; T.J. Jordan 1-2; Kyle Sullivan 0-2; Dan Engelstad 0-3), Immaculata University 6-21 (Dan Lepone 2-5; Kyle Finklea 2-6; Sean Fordham 1-2; Jayson Hyman 1-2; Julius Lopez 0-4; Kris Behm 0-1; Reggie Strickland 0-1). Fouled out--St. Mary's (Md.)-None, Immaculata University-None. Rebounds--St. Mary's (Md.) 40 (Calvin Wise 7; T.J. Jordan 7), Immaculata University 32 (Robert Jones' 6). Assists--St. Mary's (Md.) 17 (Mike Smelkinson 7), Immaculata University 12 (Kris Behm 3; Sean Fordham 3; Kyle Finklea 3). Total fouls--St. Mary's (Md.) 20, Immaculata University 17. Technical fouls--St. Mary's (Md.)-None, Immaculata University-None. A-100 Mike Smelkinson named to All-Tournament Team from St. Mary's College (MD). Kyle Finklea named to All-Tournament Team from Immaculata University. _