GREENSBORO, N.C. – Will Freeman’s jumper in the lane with 2.5 seconds left lifted Guilford College’s men’s basketball team to a thrilling 69-68 overtime win over St. Mary’s College of Maryland Friday night.
The contest marked the second of four games in the weekend Guilford College Classic. Cabrini College overcame an early deficit and pulled out a 79-74 victory over Greensboro College in Friday’s opening game.
Freeman’s first overtime bucket gave the Quakers (2-0) a 66-61 edge with 2:26 left in the frame, but the Seahawks (1-2) mounted yet another rally. Strong defense and missed Guilford free throws helped St. Mary’s score five straight points and tie the game on two Isaiah Martin free throws. A Jarrod Rogers free throw gave the Quakers a one-point edge with a minute to go, but St. Mary’s Tanner Brooks made two-of-three from the line, for a 68-67 Seahawks’ edge with 20 seconds left.
The Quakers worked the ball around in search of a quality shot, but St. Mary’s offered little space. With the clock winding down, Zachary Houston drove the lane and got the ball inside to Freeman, who spun and scooped a one-handed fall-away shot from about seven feet out that brought the crowd to its feet. St. Mary’s inbounds pass was tipped by a Quakers’ defender and then off another Seahawk out of bounds as the final horn sounded.
Freeman led all scorers with 18 points and registered a career-high five blocked shots. He also grabbed six rebounds, which helped Guilford to a 47-41 rebounding edge. Houston matched his career high with nine points, and added a game- and personal-best 14 rebounds, five assists and three steals in 40 minutes of work. Teammate Jarrod Rogers had 10 and Trevor Mayo added eight points and five rebounds.
Guilford’s defensive pressure hassled the Seahawks into one-of-eight field-goal shooting in overtime and caused 22 turnovers, which led to 22 Quakers’ points. The Quakers also collected 19 offensive rebounds that led to 20 second-chance points, compared to St. Mary’s eight.
Mayo spent most of the night guarding Brooks, who hit for 34 in St. Mary’s most recent outing. The senior shooting guard shot just two-of-nine from the floor and made only one of five three-pointers, but made 11-of-15 free throws to finish with a team-high 16 points.
Martin made eight-of-11 free throws, scored 12 points and picked up a team-high nine rebounds. Donya Jackson added 10 points and three assists.
In Friday’s opener, Deryl Begwell led four Cavaliers (2-1) in double-figures with 19 points. His layup with 2:19 left in regulation gave Cabrini the lead for good, 71-70. Ivan Robinson scored six of his 12 points in the final two minutes, which stretched the Cavs lead to five down the stretch. Tyheim Monroe notched his second straight double-double with 14 points and 17 rebounds. Jair Green also netted 14.
Donavan Griffith made 11-of-22 shots and scored a game-high 22 points for Greensboro (0-3). Simeon Howard added 21 and Parris Scales scored 10. Greensboro scored the game’s first 10 points and led by as many as 12 in the first half, before Cabrini awoke to take a 32-31 halftime lead.
The tournament concludes Saturday in Guilford’s Ragan-Brown Field House. St. Mary’s plays Greensboro at 5:00 p.m., which will be followed by the Quakers and Cabrini at 7:00 p.m.
Cabrini vs Greensboro
At Greensboro, NC – Ragan-Brown Field House
CABRINI 79
GREENSBORO 74
CABRINI (2-1) Bagwell, Deryl 9-15 1-2 19; Monroe, Tyheim 5-14 4-8 14; Green Jair 4-10 6-12 14; Robinson, Ivan 3-8 6-6 12; Mayo, Sean 3-4 2-2 8; Henry, Ace 2-6 2-2 6; Brosh IV, Robbie 2-4 0-0 4; Charity, Ryan 1-2 0-1 2; Robinson III, Jimmy 0-1 0-0 0; McGovern, Kane 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-64 21-33 79.
GREENSBORO (0-3) GRIFFITH, Donavan 11-12 0-1 22; HOWARD, Simeon 8-20 2-3 21; SCALES, Parris 5-11 0-0 10; MILLER, Trevin 1-4 4-4 7; GATLING, Joseph 2-11 1-2 5; LEAMAN, David 2-5 0-0 4; HAWKINS, Hamilton 1-2 1-3 3; OUTING, Torrence 0-2 2-2 2; SMITH, Derrick 0-1 0-0 0; CORBIN, Christopher 0-3 0-0 0; GARRISON, Javen 0-0
0-0 0. Totals 30-71 10-15 74.
Cabrini....................... 32 47 - 79 Greensboro.................... 31 43 - 74
3-point goals–Cabrini 0-7 (Bagwell, Deryl 0-3; Robinson, Ivan 0-1; Henry, Ace 0-1; Brosh IV, Robbie 0-1; Charity, Ryan 0-1), Greensboro 4-19 (HOWARD, Simeon 3-9; MILLER, Trevin 1-3; GATLING, Joseph 0-4; LEAMAN, David 0-1; OUTING, Torrence 0-1; SCALES, Parris 0-1).
Fouled out–Cabrini-None, Greensboro-None.
Rebounds–Cabrini 44 (Monroe, Tyheim 17), Greensboro 38 (HOWARD, Simeon 6; GRIFFITH, Donavan 6).
Assists–Cabrini 7 (Monroe, Tyheim 2), Greensboro 10 (HAWKINS, Hamilton 2; GATLING, Joseph 2; CORBIN, Christopher 2).
Total fouls–Cabrini 19, Greensboro 26.
Technical fouls–Cabrini-None, Greensboro-GATLING, Joseph.
A-125
Game 1 – Guilford College Classic
St. Mary’s (Md.) vs Guilford
At Greensboro, NC – Ragan-Brown Field House
GUILFORD 69
ST. MARY’S (MD.) 68
ST. MARY’S (MD.) (1-2) Tanner Brooks 2-9 11-15 16; Isaiah Martin 2-3 8-11 12; Donya Jackson 4-7 2-3 10; Marsalis Hurley 4-8 0-2 8; Delaszo Smith 3-5 0-0 7; Reggie Rouse 1-8 2-2 4; Kyle DePollar 2-9 0-0 4; James Foley 1-1 1-2 3; Garrett Snoops 0-1 2-2 2;
Connor Jacobs 1-1 0-0 2; Pat Ryan 0-0 0-0 0; Phil Newsome 0-1 0-0 0; Danny Canary 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-54 26-37 68.
GUILFORD (2-0) FREEMAN, Will 8-14 2-2 18; ROGERS, Jarrod 2-7 4-7 10; HOUSTON, Zachary 3-5 3-6 9; MAYO, Trevor 1-6 6-11 8; LONG, Carson 3-5 0-0 6; METZ, AJ 2-4 1-2 5; HYATT, Trever 2-5 0-1 5; BEST, Justen 2-8 0-0 4; BRYANT, John 2-13 0-0 4. Totals 25-67 16-29 69.
St. Mary's (Md.).............. 27 34 7 - 68 Guilford...................... 36 25 8 - 69
3-point goals–St. Mary’s (Md.) 2-14 (Tanner Brooks 1-5; Delaszo Smith 1-3; Reggie Rouse 0-2; Kyle DePollar 0-3; Isaiah Martin 0-1), Guilford 3-16 (ROGERS, Jarrod 2-5; HYATT, Trever 1-3; MAYO, Trevor 0-1; METZ, AJ 0-1; BEST, Justen 0-3; BRYANT, John 0-2; HOUSTON, Zachary 0-1).
Fouled out–St. Mary’s (Md.)-None, Guilford-BRYANT, John; MAYO, Trevor; ROGERS, Jarrod.
Rebounds–St. Mary’s (Md.) 41 (Isaiah Martin 9), Guilford 47 (HOUSTON, Zachary 14).
Assists–St. Mary’s (Md.) 9 (Donya Jackson 3), Guilford 13 (HOUSTON, Zachary 5).
Total fouls–St. Mary’s (Md.) 22, Guilford 26.
Technical fouls–St. Mary’s (Md.)-TEAM, Guilford-None.
A-400
Game 2 – Guilford College Classic