Guilford men get win behind Pittman(Trinity HS) and Akinsola(Word of God): Quaker games FREE this week…

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Josh Pittman (Archdale, N.C./Trinity) scored 13 of his
game-high 21 points in the second half of Guilford College’s 61-57 comeback
win over visiting St. Mary’s College of Maryland Monday night.

The Quakers (7-5) erased a nine-point halftime deficit to upend the Seahawks
(9-3), who are ranked 13th in the current D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll. The
defensive struggle saw both teams shoot 39 percent from the floor and
featured seven ties and 14 lead changes.

St. Mary’s held Guilford to eight-of-26 field-goal shooting (28.6%) in the
first half and closed the period on a 6-0 spurt to take a 31-22 halftime
lead. Alex Franz (Catonsville, Md./Cardinal Gibbons) scored 11 of his
team-high 15 points in the opening frame.

Gabriel Lowder’s (Yadkinville, N.C./North Forsyth) jumper capped a 14-4
Guilford run to start the second half and gave the hosts a 36-35 edge with
13:21 to play. The teams traded the lead seven times over the next eight
minutes before Pittman’s jumper at the 5:08 mark gave Guilford the lead for
good at 49-48.

Tobi Akinsola’s (Cary, N.C./Word of God Christian (Bethany)) dunk with 1:20
remaining opened Guilford’s largest advantage (57-51), but four free throws
sandwiched around a Pittman turnover drew St. Mary’s back to within 57-55
with 45 seconds left. The Seahawks made a strong defensive stand on the
ensuing possession, but Pittman’s 25-foot three-pointer with the shot clock
running out iced the win.

Akinsola finished with 15 points and a game-high nine rebounds, four on the
offensive glass. Guilford held St. Mary’s to two-for-nine shooting from the
floor in the final 7:37.

Sam Burum (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) (12 points) joined Franz as the
Seahawks’ double-figure scorers. Devin Spencer (Baltimore, Md./Towson
Catholic) chipped in with eight points and Christian MacAuley (Silver
Spring, Md./Paint Branch) grabbed a team-best eight rebounds.

Guilford resumes Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) play Wednesday when
it hosts Emory & Henry College at 7:00 p.m. in the Ragan-Brown Field House.
Admission to the game is free.

St. Mary’s (Md.) vs Guilford
01/03/11 7:00 p.m. at Greensboro, NC – Ragan-Brown Field House
At Greensboro, NC – Ragan-Brown Field House
GUILFORD 61, ST. MARY’S (MD.) 57
ST. MARY’S (MD.) (9-3)
Franz,Alex 5-12 2-2 15; Burum,Sam 4-7 4-6 12; Spencer,Devin 3-6 0-0 8;
Jarczynski,Kyle 1-3 4-6 6; Queen,Deon 1-3 2-2 4; Davenport,James 1-3 2-2 4;
MacAuley,Christian 2-7 0-0 4; Haus,Jeff 1-1 1-2 3; Fitzpatrick,Mike 0-2 1-4
1; Smith,Joe 0-0 0-0 0; Hutchinson,Chris 0-2 0-1 0. Totals 18-46 16-25 57.
GUILFORD (7-5)
PITTMAN, Josh 6-13 6-9 21; AKINSOLA, Tobi 6-13 3-3 15; LOWDER, Gabriel 2-7
2-3 6; MONROE, Brad 3-4 0-0 6; TRACY, Travis 2-6 0-0 4; ANDERSON, T.C. 1-2
2-3 4; STAFFORD, Justin 1-2 1-2 3; STEPHENSON, Martin 1-9 0-2 2; BELICIC,
Connor 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-56 14-22 61.
St. Mary’s (Md.)………….. 31 26 – 57
Guilford…………………. 22 39 – 61
3-point goals–St. Mary’s (Md.) 5-17 (Franz,Alex 3-8; Spencer,Devin 2-5;
Queen,Deon 0-1; Davenport,James 0-1; Fitzpatrick,Mike 0-1; Hutchinson,Chris
0-1), Guilford 3-11 (PITTMAN, Josh 3-8; LOWDER, Gabriel 0-1; TRACY, Travis
0-1; ANDERSON, T.C. 0-1). Fouled out–St. Mary’s (Md.)-None,
Guilford-STAFFORD, Justin. Rebounds–St. Mary’s (Md.) 37 (MacAuley,Christian
8), Guilford 34 (AKINSOLA, Tobi 9). Assists–St. Mary’s (Md.) 9
(Fitzpatrick,Mike 2; Franz,Alex 2; Burum,Sam 2), Guilford 9 (PITTMAN, Josh
3). Total fouls–St. Mary’s (Md.) 22, Guilford 21. Technical fouls–St.
Mary’s (Md.)-None, Guilford-None. A-300
Nonconference game
St. Mary’s (Md.) is ranked 13th in the current D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll.

Dave Walters
Guilford College Athletics