St. Mary's College Men's Basketball Tripped Up by Penn State Berks

Nairem Moran St. Marys College of Maryland Athletics

Jan 30

First-year guard Micah Henry (Laurel, Md./Hammond) put up a game-best 23 points Saturday afternoon (Jan. 28) as the St. Mary's College of Maryland men's basketball team dropped their fourth straight game to extend their longest skid of the season.

St. Mary's College (8-10, 3-6 United East) gave up a 22-point second-half lead in falling 74-69 to Penn State Berks (7-10, 5-5 United East) in United East Conference action.

How It Happened

It was a tale of two halves as St. Mary's controlled the first half before the Nittany Lions took over in the final 15 minutes of the game.
In his first career start, first-year guard Keon Wright (Jessup, Md./Chapelgate Christian) scored seven straight points to give the Seahawks a 9-2 lead at the 16-minute mark.
The Seahawks' shooting was on point in the first 20 minutes, leading by double digits for the final 10 minutes of the half behind a 61.5-field goal percentage. The hosts headed into the break with a 37-20 advantage.
St. Mary's grew its lead to 22 at 18:53 of the second half behind back-to-back two-point buckets from Henry and Wright. Another Henry layup at 17:27 would be the last time the Seahawks would own a 20-plus advantage (44-23).
Penn State Berks came roaring back as the Nittany Lions went on a 38-15 tear over the next 12 minutes to grab its first lead of the game (61-59 at 5:20), including scoring on eight straight possessions.
The Seahawks did not connect on a single field goal during an eight-minute stretch until Henry made a layup to close the gap to 63-61 at 4:01. Henry went on to score the team's final 10 points of the game, pulling St. Mary's within one three times, including 70-69 with 11 ticks on the clock.
Jeff Lorah sealed the deal by going 4-of-4 from the free throw line over the finals seconds as the Seahawks missed back-to-back three-point attempts.

Keon Wright vs. Penn State Berks (1.28.23)

Inside the Box Score

St. Mary's posted a 32-24 rebounding margin behind junior forward Hollique Johnson's (Glen Burnie, Md./Old Mill) game-high seven boards.
The Nittany Lions notched 20 points off 18 turnovers by St. Mary's, including 13 off 10 in the second half.

St. Mary's Game Notes

Henry shot 9-of-13 from the floor and went 5-of-7 at the free throw line to lead all scorers with 23 points. He also added a career-best seven assists plus three caroms and two blocks.
Wright finished with a career-high 16 points as he drained a career-best four three-pointers, going 6-of-8 from the floor. He chipped in a career-best three rebounds as well.
St. Mary's finished the game shooting a season-best 56.3-percent (27-48) from the field but only made 10-of-19 free throws.

Penn State Berks Game Notes

With today's win, Berks completes the season sweep of the Seahawks after earning a 78-76 come-from-behind win in Reading, Pa., on January 20.
Isaiah Cotton notched a team-best 14 points in the Nittany Lions' second straight win.
After posting a dismal 20.0-field goal percentage in the first half, the visitors knocked down 75-percent of their shots in the second stanza, including 6-of-10 three-pointers.

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