thursday,march 21, 2013 - County Times - Southern Maryland Online

Sp rts
By Alex Panos
Staff Writer
The County Times
Sea’s The Moment
By defeating visiting Morrisville State (23-6) 84-66, the St.
Mary’s College Seahawks (27-3) completed a perfect home season
last weekend, setting a new season win record and earning a trip to
the NCAA Division III Elite 8 in the process.
Locked In On D
The Seahawks were on a string defensively throughout the night,
and threw a constantly changing series of defensive sets at their
opponents.
St. Mary’s utilized two versions of man-to-man, five zones, and
seven – count them seven – press sets that combined to create a combination
of shooting woes for Morrisville State who were out of sync
all night, shooting just 32 percent from the floor, a minuscule 21 percent
from three and 66 percent from the line.
Furthermore, added Seahawks Head Coach Chris Harney, each
set is completely unique, and he did not call the same defensive plays
more than three times in a row throughout the ballgame.
“We’re constantly changing our defense,” Harney said, “I knew
that was going to be hard for them [to develop a rhythm offensively].
He also noticed offensively Morrisville State did not execute
their plays throughout the night.
Running The Stuff
St. Mary’s shot a blistering 52 percent for the contest, including
50 percent from beyond the arc.
Combined with the solid defensive effort they built and held a
comfortable double-digit lead for the final 18 minutes of the game.
A brief hiccup occurred in the second half when Morrisville
State began making a late run and cut the lead to 11 by full-court
pressing and forcing St. Mary’s to commit a couple of turnovers. Harney
took the opportunity during a timeout to rally his troops.
“I told them they had two options, “Harney explained, “protect
the ball and play not to lose or attack and play to win.”
He invited his team to “go at them and challenge them,” and the
Seahawks never looked back.
Turning Point – Rebound Hounds
St. Mary’s did a number of things well on this particular evening,
but their ability to outrebound Morrisville State, the visitor’s key
strength heading into the contest, stands among the most impressive.
Losing the battle of the boards 20-18 at halftime, St. Mary’s
crashed the glass in the second half – pulling down a total of 49 by
the end of the night.
They finished the game a plus 13 in the category, an astounding
statistic considering Morrisville State was plus 10 or more on the
glass every game this season.
“They went out in the second half and we boxed out,” observed
Harney.
Big man Jeff Haus and guard Donn Hill led the way with 11
rebounds each.
“They [his teammates] always get on me about rebounding in
practice and boxing out,” said Hill – the game’s leading scorer with
17 – adding he made a conscious effort to get on the glass throughout
the week in practice.
Seahawks Advance to Elite 8
Testing, Tuning at MIR this weekend
On Saturday, March 23 MIR will host a full day Test and Tune. Time runs, grudge
runs, testing, and tuning all day long. MIR will also have a free $1,000 to win gamblers
race for the bracket racers. So bring your grudge matches, street cars, pro cars, bracket
cars, imports, motorcycles, and Jr. Dragsters to MIR. Gates open at 10 a.m., eliminations
begin at 3 p.m., and the test and tune is over at 6 p.m. Admission is just $15.
On Sunday, March 24th MIR will host another full day Test and Tune. Time runs,
grudge runs, testing, and tuning all day long. MIR will also have a free $1,000 to win
gamblers race for the bracket racers. So bring your grudge matches, street cars, pro cars,
bracket cars, imports, motorcycles, and Jr. Dragsters to MIR. Gates open at 10 a.m., eliminations
begin at 3 p.m., and the Test and Tune is over at 6 p.m. Admission is just $15.
For more information on these events call 301-884-RACE or visit mirdrag.com
Photo By Frank Marquart
Starting guard Donn Hill led the way for the Seahawks with 17 points and 11
rebounds.
Haus, meanwhile, attributed his gaudy rebounding numbers to
getting in good position once a shot is taken, making up for what he
called a “lack of athleticism.”
Haus also chipped in with 13 points.
“I knew I wanted a double double too,” he joked.
Streaking Seahawks
St. Mary’s finished the season undefeated at home, and set an alltime
record win total with victory number 27 on Saturday.
“It hasn’t really sunk in yet to be honest with you,” Harney said
of his team’s accomplishments – his focus squarely on the upcoming
Elite 8 matchup. “Right now… our record is 0-0.”
Harney added, community support and enthusiasm, particularly
during home games, has played a role in the team’s success this
season.
What it Means
St. Mary’s now travels to Salem to play Mary-Hardin Baylor Friday.
If they win, a Final Four game is slated for Saturday.
Harney says their next opponent is a very athletic team that likes
to play physical and control the rebounding game.
He believes the Seahawks have already beaten a team that plays
a similar style in Alvernia.
“We can adapt well,” Harney said.
“We have so many weapons,” starting guard James Davenport
said when asked about St. Mary’s strengths as they continue through
the tournament. “We’re so deep.”
alexpanos@countytimes.net
Thursday, March 21, 2013 30
Crabs Add
Pitcher
and
Outfielder
The Southern Maryland
Blue Crabs have purchased the
contract of pitcher Logan Williamson
from the Lancaster
Barnstormers and signed outfielder
Brandon Jones, manager
Patrick Osborn announced today.
Williamson, 27, earned a
9-3 record and 2.88 ERA in 128
innings for the San Angelo Colts
of the North American League
of Independent Baseball in 2012.
Williamson was among the top
three in wins with the Colts from
2011-12, before joining the Lancaster
Barnstormers during the
2012-13 off season.
The 6’0”, 210-pound, lefthander
has spent the previous
six seasons across independent
baseball with such teams as the
Pensacola Pelicans, Shreveport-
Bossier Captains and Grand
Prairie AirHogs of the Americans
Association, the Brockton
Rox of the Canadian-American
Association and San Angelo.
Williamson recorded a 4.49 ERA
with 578 strikeouts in 772.1 innings
in Independent League
action.
The Great Lakes, Ill., native
was last drafted by the Chicago
White Sox in the 27th round of
the 2004 MLB June Amateur
Draft.
Jones, 29, recorded a .326
average, 128 hits, 74 runs, 73
RBIs and 14 homeruns in 97
games with the Kansas City T-
Bones of the American Association
of Independent Baseball in
2012. He ranked first on Kansas
City in hits, runs, RBIs and third
on the team in batting average
last season. The Panama City,
Fla., native has tallied 38 hits, 22
RBIs, 18 runs and a .257 batting
average in 51 games with the Atlanta
Braves from 2007-09, and
has recorded a .307 batting average,
180 hits, 95 RBIs and 94
runs in two seasons (2011-12) of
independent baseball.
Jones was a part of the
Braves farm system from 2004-
09, reaching as high as Triple A’s
Richmond Braves and the Gwinnett
Braves of the International
League before joining the Pittsburgh
Pirates, Detroit Tigers and
Milwaukee Brewers organizations
(2010-11).
The 6’1”, 215-pound leftfielder
was last drafted by the
Atlanta Braves in the 24th round
of the 2003 amateur draft and
made his major league debut at
on September 16, 2007 at age 23.
Jones spent parts of three seasons
(2007-09) with the Braves.