The Seahawks claimed a slim 45-42 advantage at the intermission, with both team shooting the ball well. Averett shot 51.9 percent (14-27) from the field in the first half compared to 47.2 percent (17-36) for the Seahawks.
In the second half, the contest went back and fourth in the opening seven minutes. Trailing by two points at the 13:15 mark, the Seahawks responded with a 23-10 run that was capped by a Lesesne three-pointer giving the team a 79-68 lead.
Averett fought back and narrowed the deficit to three points at 84-81 with 57 seconds remaining after a made three-pointer from sophomore guard Cameron Brown, but they would not be able to get any closer down the stretch. St. Mary’s nailed all four of their free throw attempts in the final minute of play and the Cougars went a combined 0-5 from the field in their final two possessions to seal the win for the Seahawks.
Along with Lesesne’s performance, junior guard Valdez Preston scored 18 points while sophomore guard/forward T.J. Jordan posted a double-double with 14 points and a game-high tying ten rebounds, while shooting a perfect 4-for-4 from the field.
Senior guard Sterling Williams led the Cougars with 22 points while junior forward Andrew Boor scored 15 points on 6-for-7 shooting from the field. Brown scored ten points with freshman guard Dominique Stevenson posting a game-high nine assists. Freshman forward Rafael DeLeon tied Jordan with a game-high tying ten rebounds in the losing effort.
Both teams continued to shoot well in the second half as the Seahawks finished the contest by converting on 50.0 percent (29-58) of their total attempts. Averett connected on 45.3 percent (29-64) of their shots throughout the course of the contest.
The Seahawks will return to action on Thursday, December 15, when they travel to Davidson College (D-I) for a non-conference contest. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 7:00 p.m.
Newspaper Box Score Averett vs St. Mary's (MD) 12/10/05 4:00 pm at St. Mary's City, MD - ARC Arena At St. Mary's City, MD - ARC Arena ST. MARY'S (MD) 88, AVERETT 81 AVERETT (4-3) WILLIAMS, Sterling 7-14 5-7 22; BOOR, Andrew 6-7 3-7 15; BROWN, Cameron 3-6 3-3 10; BROWN, Damien 3-7 2-4 8; MCDANIEL, Cory 3-10 0-0 7; HAGWOOD, Shaun 2-6 0-0 6; DELEON, Rafael 2-7 1-2 5; GARDNER, Billy 2-2 0-0 4; STEVENSON, Dominique 0-3 2-2 2; WILKINS, Carlos 1-1 0-0 2; BRAAKMAN, Dimitri 0-0 0-0 0; FRAZIER, Ryan 0-0 0-0 0; HAMMOND, Luke 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-64 16-25 81. ST. MARY'S (MD) (5-2) Tyson Lesesne 10-18 7-10 34; Valdez Preston 5-15 4-6 18; T.J. Jordan 4-4 4-4 14; Spencer Way III 3-5 0-1 7; Tommy Bushell 3-6 0-0 6; Calvin Wise 2-3 1-4 5; Dan Engelstad 2-7 0-0 4; Thomas Cosgrove 0-0 0-0 0; Dino Vilson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-58 16-25 88. Averett....................... 42 39 - 81 St. Mary's (MD)............... 45 43 - 88 3-point goals-Averett 7-22 (WILLIAMS, Sterling 3-7; HAGWOOD, Shaun 2-5; BROWN, Cameron 1-3; MCDANIEL, Cory 1-6; STEVENSON, Dominique 0-1), St. Mary's (MD) 14-27 (Tyson Lesesne 7-12; Valdez Preston 4-9; T.J. Jordan 2-2; Spencer Way III 1-3; Dan Engelstad 0-1). Fouled out--Averett-DELEON, Rafael, St. Mary's (MD)-None. Rebounds-Averett 30 (DELEON, Rafael 10), St. Mary's (MD) 46 (T.J. Jordan 10). Assists-Averett 17 (STEVENSON, Dominique 9), St. Mary's (MD) 21 (Dan Engelstad 7). Total fouls-Averett 21, St. Mary's (MD) 17. A-238