thursday,march 21, 2013 - County Times - Southern Maryland Online
thursday,march 21, 2013 - County Times - Southern Maryland Online
thursday,march 21, 2013 - County Times - Southern Maryland Online
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Sp rts<br />
By Alex Panos<br />
Staff Writer<br />
The <strong>County</strong> <strong>Times</strong><br />
Sea’s The Moment<br />
By defeating visiting Morrisville State (23-6) 84-66, the St.<br />
Mary’s College Seahawks (27-3) completed a perfect home season<br />
last weekend, setting a new season win record and earning a trip to<br />
the NCAA Division III Elite 8 in the process.<br />
Locked In On D<br />
The Seahawks were on a string defensively throughout the night,<br />
and threw a constantly changing series of defensive sets at their<br />
opponents.<br />
St. Mary’s utilized two versions of man-to-man, five zones, and<br />
seven – count them seven – press sets that combined to create a combination<br />
of shooting woes for Morrisville State who were out of sync<br />
all night, shooting just 32 percent from the floor, a minuscule <strong>21</strong> percent<br />
from three and 66 percent from the line.<br />
Furthermore, added Seahawks Head Coach Chris Harney, each<br />
set is completely unique, and he did not call the same defensive plays<br />
more than three times in a row throughout the ballgame.<br />
“We’re constantly changing our defense,” Harney said, “I knew<br />
that was going to be hard for them [to develop a rhythm offensively].<br />
He also noticed offensively Morrisville State did not execute<br />
their plays throughout the night.<br />
Running The Stuff<br />
St. Mary’s shot a blistering 52 percent for the contest, including<br />
50 percent from beyond the arc.<br />
Combined with the solid defensive effort they built and held a<br />
comfortable double-digit lead for the final 18 minutes of the game.<br />
A brief hiccup occurred in the second half when Morrisville<br />
State began making a late run and cut the lead to 11 by full-court<br />
pressing and forcing St. Mary’s to commit a couple of turnovers. Harney<br />
took the opportunity during a timeout to rally his troops.<br />
“I told them they had two options, “Harney explained, “protect<br />
the ball and play not to lose or attack and play to win.”<br />
He invited his team to “go at them and challenge them,” and the<br />
Seahawks never looked back.<br />
Turning Point – Rebound Hounds<br />
St. Mary’s did a number of things well on this particular evening,<br />
but their ability to outrebound Morrisville State, the visitor’s key<br />
strength heading into the contest, stands among the most impressive.<br />
Losing the battle of the boards 20-18 at halftime, St. Mary’s<br />
crashed the glass in the second half – pulling down a total of 49 by<br />
the end of the night.<br />
They finished the game a plus 13 in the category, an astounding<br />
statistic considering Morrisville State was plus 10 or more on the<br />
glass every game this season.<br />
“They went out in the second half and we boxed out,” observed<br />
Harney.<br />
Big man Jeff Haus and guard Donn Hill led the way with 11<br />
rebounds each.<br />
“They [his teammates] always get on me about rebounding in<br />
practice and boxing out,” said Hill – the game’s leading scorer with<br />
17 – adding he made a conscious effort to get on the glass throughout<br />
the week in practice.<br />
Seahawks Advance to Elite 8<br />
Testing, Tuning at MIR this weekend<br />
On Saturday, March 23 MIR will host a full day Test and Tune. Time runs, grudge<br />
runs, testing, and tuning all day long. MIR will also have a free $1,000 to win gamblers<br />
race for the bracket racers. So bring your grudge matches, street cars, pro cars, bracket<br />
cars, imports, motorcycles, and Jr. Dragsters to MIR. Gates open at 10 a.m., eliminations<br />
begin at 3 p.m., and the test and tune is over at 6 p.m. Admission is just $15.<br />
On Sunday, March 24th MIR will host another full day Test and Tune. Time runs,<br />
grudge runs, testing, and tuning all day long. MIR will also have a free $1,000 to win<br />
gamblers race for the bracket racers. So bring your grudge matches, street cars, pro cars,<br />
bracket cars, imports, motorcycles, and Jr. Dragsters to MIR. Gates open at 10 a.m., eliminations<br />
begin at 3 p.m., and the Test and Tune is over at 6 p.m. Admission is just $15.<br />
For more information on these events call 301-884-RACE or visit mirdrag.com<br />
Photo By Frank Marquart<br />
Starting guard Donn Hill led the way for the Seahawks with 17 points and 11<br />
rebounds.<br />
Haus, meanwhile, attributed his gaudy rebounding numbers to<br />
getting in good position once a shot is taken, making up for what he<br />
called a “lack of athleticism.”<br />
Haus also chipped in with 13 points.<br />
“I knew I wanted a double double too,” he joked.<br />
Streaking Seahawks<br />
St. Mary’s finished the season undefeated at home, and set an alltime<br />
record win total with victory number 27 on Saturday.<br />
“It hasn’t really sunk in yet to be honest with you,” Harney said<br />
of his team’s accomplishments – his focus squarely on the upcoming<br />
Elite 8 matchup. “Right now… our record is 0-0.”<br />
Harney added, community support and enthusiasm, particularly<br />
during home games, has played a role in the team’s success this<br />
season.<br />
What it Means<br />
St. Mary’s now travels to Salem to play Mary-Hardin Baylor Friday.<br />
If they win, a Final Four game is slated for Saturday.<br />
Harney says their next opponent is a very athletic team that likes<br />
to play physical and control the rebounding game.<br />
He believes the Seahawks have already beaten a team that plays<br />
a similar style in Alvernia.<br />
“We can adapt well,” Harney said.<br />
“We have so many weapons,” starting guard James Davenport<br />
said when asked about St. Mary’s strengths as they continue through<br />
the tournament. “We’re so deep.”<br />
alexpanos@countytimes.net<br />
Thursday, March <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2013</strong> 30<br />
Crabs Add<br />
Pitcher<br />
and<br />
Outfielder<br />
The <strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Maryland</strong><br />
Blue Crabs have purchased the<br />
contract of pitcher Logan Williamson<br />
from the Lancaster<br />
Barnstormers and signed outfielder<br />
Brandon Jones, manager<br />
Patrick Osborn announced today.<br />
Williamson, 27, earned a<br />
9-3 record and 2.88 ERA in 128<br />
innings for the San Angelo Colts<br />
of the North American League<br />
of Independent Baseball in 2012.<br />
Williamson was among the top<br />
three in wins with the Colts from<br />
2011-12, before joining the Lancaster<br />
Barnstormers during the<br />
2012-13 off season.<br />
The 6’0”, <strong>21</strong>0-pound, lefthander<br />
has spent the previous<br />
six seasons across independent<br />
baseball with such teams as the<br />
Pensacola Pelicans, Shreveport-<br />
Bossier Captains and Grand<br />
Prairie AirHogs of the Americans<br />
Association, the Brockton<br />
Rox of the Canadian-American<br />
Association and San Angelo.<br />
Williamson recorded a 4.49 ERA<br />
with 578 strikeouts in 772.1 innings<br />
in Independent League<br />
action.<br />
The Great Lakes, Ill., native<br />
was last drafted by the Chicago<br />
White Sox in the 27th round of<br />
the 2004 MLB June Amateur<br />
Draft.<br />
Jones, 29, recorded a .326<br />
average, 128 hits, 74 runs, 73<br />
RBIs and 14 homeruns in 97<br />
games with the Kansas City T-<br />
Bones of the American Association<br />
of Independent Baseball in<br />
2012. He ranked first on Kansas<br />
City in hits, runs, RBIs and third<br />
on the team in batting average<br />
last season. The Panama City,<br />
Fla., native has tallied 38 hits, 22<br />
RBIs, 18 runs and a .257 batting<br />
average in 51 games with the Atlanta<br />
Braves from 2007-09, and<br />
has recorded a .307 batting average,<br />
180 hits, 95 RBIs and 94<br />
runs in two seasons (2011-12) of<br />
independent baseball.<br />
Jones was a part of the<br />
Braves farm system from 2004-<br />
09, reaching as high as Triple A’s<br />
Richmond Braves and the Gwinnett<br />
Braves of the International<br />
League before joining the Pittsburgh<br />
Pirates, Detroit Tigers and<br />
Milwaukee Brewers organizations<br />
(2010-11).<br />
The 6’1”, <strong>21</strong>5-pound leftfielder<br />
was last drafted by the<br />
Atlanta Braves in the 24th round<br />
of the 2003 amateur draft and<br />
made his major league debut at<br />
on September 16, 2007 at age 23.<br />
Jones spent parts of three seasons<br />
(2007-09) with the Braves.