Saints Shut Down Statesmen, 68-57

by: 

Tara Freeman

Sophomore Garrett Sharlow led the Saints with a game-high 17 points and 6 steals.

Jan. 29:  Sophomore Garrett Sharlow earned a game-high 17 points to help the St. Lawrence men's basketball team defeat Hobart College, 68-57 Friday night in the Burkman Gymnasium.

The Saints improve to an 8-9 (3-2) overall record, while the Statesmen fall to a 9-8 (2-4) mark.

Garrett Sharlow shot 6-of-11 from the field, and totaled a game-high six steals and ten rebounds.  Sophomore's Terry Parham and Ralph Temgoua grabbed 11 points each, while senior captain Josh Sharlow earned game-highs with 11 rebounds and six assists.  Hobart's Stefan Thompson and Matt Pebole each posted a team-high 14 points with Pebole also picking up a team-high seven rebounds.

The Saints started off the first half big as Temgoua stole the ball with roughly five minutes gone and slam-dunked to send fans on their feet.  Both Garrett Sharlow and senior captain Andy Hoercher hit back-to-back layups to put the Saints ahead, 14-8 with 14:03 on the clock.  Hobart's Pebole responded with an easy jumper to cut the deficit to four and Mark Bruce hit one from beyond the arc to bring his team within one point of the Scarlet and Brown.  However, Josh Sharlow followed suit, paired with three solid free-throws from Temgoua to put the Saints back ahead by seven points with a score of 20-13.  With 4:41 left on the clock, St. Lawrence led by 11 points after Garrett Sharlow hit consecutive free-throws.  The Statesmen were able to climb back to within eight points as Rezin Davis sunk a three and Stefan Thompson nailed back-to-back free-throws before the frame came to a close.  Both teams entered the locker room with a score of 32-24.

St. Lawrence continued to grab momentum into the second half, playing a particularly strong 2-3 zone defense.  Roughly seven minutes into the stanza, the Saints led by 16 points as Josh Sharlow chipped one in off the glass.  Hoercher followed with a solid three-pointer, while Parham posted two off a layup to increase the Saints' advantage to 20 points with a score of 53-33.  Hobart tried to get something going as Tim Llewellyn responded with a three, but Temgoua forced a turnover to regain possession.  St. Lawrence was able to stay ahead 14 points or more until the clock ticked to under a minute left.  The Statesmen were then able to cut the deficit to 11 as Davis sunk a shot from beyond the arc, followed by a pair of layups from Tim Ivory and Brian Burbank.  However, it wasn't enough to shut down the Saints, as the Scarlet and Brown walked away with the 68-57 victory.

The Saints scored 19 points off turnovers, while the Statesmen earned nine, and grabbed 38 points in the paint compared to Hobart's 20.  St. Lawrence also totaled eight second chance points, while Hobart tallied four.

St. Lawrence takes on conference opponent Hamilton College Saturday, January 30^th in the Burkman Gymnasium.  Tip-off is set for 4:00 pm.