Box Score
Reading, PA---Senior Dave Smith scored a game-high 20 points and pulled down eight rebounds to lead Gwynedd-Mercy to an 85-69 win over The College of New Jersey Friday evening in game one of the 11th Annual Tom Masano/Sheraton Reading Tip-Off Tournament hosted by Alvernia University.
Smith scored four of his 20 during a 6-0 run midway through the second half that doubled the Griffins' lead and gave them breathing room for the final seven minutes. GMC advances to Saturday's championship game and will face either Alvernia or Penn State-Berks. TCNJ faces the other in Saturday's consolation game.
Tim McCauley scored 19 points and dished out nine assists for the Griffins, Lameire Talley scored 15 points, and Jon Hogga added a dozen. The Lions put four players in double figures led by Jay Frank who reached 15.
The Griffins built their first sizeable lead late in the first half with Ryan McCarty scoring five points during a 14-2 run that turned a one-point deficit into an 11-point lead at 41-30 with 1:41 left on the first half clock. The largest lead prior to that run was a mere four points.
GMC opened the scoring just over a minute into play and built its first four-point lead, 7-3 on a Smith jumper. The Lions came back to take a 13-11 lead scoring twice behind the arc; the second from Aaron Syvertsen giving TCNJ its second lead of the night.
The teams exchanged mini spurts over the next nine minutes with Syversten hitting another jumper to put the Lions up 28-27. Jon Crabtree hit a pair of free throws to give the lead back to the Griffins and McCauley's 3-pointer 90 seconds later finished a 10-0 spurt that established a nine-point lead, 37-28.
TCNJ stopped the run with a Jeff Molinelli jumper, but Gwynedd-Mercy answered with four straight for its first double digit lead of the night, and an exchange of buckets left the Griffins up 43-32 at the halftime break.
Lemeire Talley opened the second half with a jumper giving GMC its largest lead of the night, 45-32, but TCNJ answered with eight straight led by Adam Gonzalez who tallied the final six.
McCauley's 3 from the left elbow pushed the lead back to eight and Matt Johnson ended a 10-0 run with a layup to give GMC a 15-point lead, 55-40 with 13:31 to play.
TCNJ needed a minute and a half to pull the gap back down to single digits with Frank scoring four points during a 10-3 Lions' run. They pulled within seven on a pair of free throws at 8:50 and down to six a minute later when Pete Kelly buried a 3.
GMC answered with six straight bookended by four from Smith and the Lions only pulled within 10 on one more occasion when Frank's layup at 4:18 made the spread nine, 72-63.
The Griffins established their largest lead in the final minute on a pair of free throws and took the 16-point win in their season opener.
GMC will face the winner of the Alvernia/Penn State-Berks game in Saturday's tournament final Saturday at 3:00 p.m.
GMC will face the winner of the Alvernia/Penn State-Berks game in Saturday's tournament final Saturday at 3:00 p.m. TCNJ returns to action on November 22 when they will face the loser of the Alvernia- Penn State Berks contest at 1:00 p.m. in the consolation game of the Alvernia University's Tip-Off Tournament.
