WESTMINSTER, Md. – In its final game before the Christmas break, the Marymount (Va.) University men's basketball team used a strong second half to take down McDaniel College on Sunday afternoon, 63-52, snapping a five-game slide to improve to 3-6 for the season.
The non-conference matchup was a close one through the first 20 minutes, seeing the Saints ride just a 25-24 advantage into the break. But for a majority, the blue and white carried the momentum, only faltering the lead once throughout the whole game with less than four minutes left in the first half. It wouldn't last long, as junior Pat Dumais dropped in a layup 20 seconds later to eliminate the Green Terror advantage for the remainder of the contest.
Through the first half, MU shot 50 percent from the field (9-for-18) led by senior Rick Narcisse, junior Jesse Longmire and sophomore Dimitri Rucker with five points apiece.
The final 20 minutes is when the Saints turned it on, pushing the lead to double digits by the 9:13 mark. Sophomore Alex Danko got Marymount started off the restart with a strong finish in the paint to spread the score to 27-24, before sophomore D'Ondre Stockman heated up with five-straight points off a layup and three-pointer. Stockman, who finished with a team-high 15 points, added another two layups a few minutes later, a part of an 11-2 run for the Saints pushing the score to 43-32. That double-digit mark was hit off a Narcisse steal and finish on the other end.
McDaniel shut down the run with a long ball to get back within eight, but senior Danny Ferryanswered accordingly with two-straight three-pointers of his own to give the Saints a comfortable 14-point lead.
In the final five minutes, the Green Terror would get as close as seven points to Marymount but consistent shooting by the blue and white sealed up the victory, 63-52.
For the game, the Saints shot an impressive 56.1 percent from the field (23-for-41). Along with Stockman's 15 for the afternoon, Narcisse and Rucker registered 11 points apiece while Ferry added 10. Narcisse also finished with a team-high seven rebounds, while Longmire notched a game-high three assists.
The men will now take the next two weeks to prepare for a Capital Athletic Conference matchup to end 2015 on Wednesday, December 30. The Saints will travel to St. Mary's College of Maryland for a 6 p.m., tipoff.