Wesley Beats St. Mary's in CAC Clash
DOVER, Del. - Wesley College's Rashawn Johnson (Selbyville, Del./Sussex Tech) and James Stratton (Magnolia, Del./Caesar Rodney) combined for 54 points as the Wolverines remained undefeated in CAC play with a 97-93 win over visiting St. Mary's (Md.).
Johnson played all 40 minutes on his way to 32 points on 11-of-16 shooting and 5-of-8 threes. Stratton, meanwhile, went 6-of-10 from the floor and canned 4-of-6 from distance on his way to 22 points.
Wesley (11-5, 8-0 CAC) shot very well as a team all afternoon. The Wolverines hit 13-of-26 from beyond the arc and made 24-of-29 free throws (83 percent).
Johnson scored 11 points during a 17-4 run as Wesley (11-5, 8-0 CAC) erased a 70-58 deficit. After the senior drained a three with 9:43 left to cut it to 74-73, Stratton calmly sank a pair of free throws 46 seconds later for the Wolverines' first lead of the game.
Two minutes later, a three by St. Mary's (13-4, 6-2 CAC) Carmonte Griffin shaved Wesley's lead to just one point. On the next possession, Griffin was whistled for a foul that resulted in a pair of Stratton free throws. After the second free throw, the speedy Seahawk, who led the team with 27 points, was called for a charge for his fifth foul with 6:19 to go.
Wesley expanded its advantage to seven, 93-86, with 2:07 to go, but James Davenport poured in five points in a 7-0 Seahawk and tied the game on a fastbreak with 57 seconds left.
Stratton drove to the hoop for two with 22 second remaining to lift Wesley to a 95-93 lead. St. Mary's held the ball for a last shot, but as Mike Fitzpatrick tried to save a loose ball he threw it to Evan Martin (Wilmington, Del./Laurinburg Institute {N.C.}) with only six seconds remaining. The Seahawks were forced to foul and Martin sank a pair of foul shots with one second left to ice the game.
Rudy Thomas (Milton, Del./Sussex Tech) scored in double figures with 10 points for Wesley. Alphonzo Wright (Dover, Del./Polytech) had 12 rebounds.
Griffin hit 10-of-17 field goals in the game on his way to 27 points. Davenport added 15 off the bench on 6-of-9 shooting. Alex Irmer added 13, while Fitzpatrick had 11. Alex Franz had a nice all around game with 10 points, six rebounds and seven assists. Calvin Wise hauled in a game-high 13 rebounds.
St. Mary's jumped out to an early 17-7 lead in the first half after a lay in by Griffin. A fastbreak lay up by Johnson cut it to three 28-25 with 8:14 to play, but the Seahawks would build the lead back to as many as 10.
Davenport hit a three with 1:27 to go for a 52-42 lead, but Johnson scored twice down the stretch as the Wolverines trailed by six at the half.
With the win, Wesley remained unbeaten halfway through the conference schedule. The Wolverines will also look to keep their eight game win streak going when The College of New Jersey (8-8) visits Wentworth Gymnasium for the final non-conference game of the season for both squads. Tip off is set for 7:00 PM on Monday, January 26.
