Second-seeded Wesley College broke open a back-and-forth contest with a 16-0 run over four minutes midway through the second half on the way to a 64-51 victory over fourth-seeded Marymount to win the 2009 CAC Men's Basketball Championship.

The Wolverines (18-9), in just their second season in the conference, earned the automatic bid to the 2009 NCAA Tournament behind the 15-point performance of guard Alphonso Wright.  Rudy Thomas came off the bench to add 14 points in 17 minutes while James Stratton chipped in 12 markers.

Marymount (15-13), which upended top-seeded St. Mary's in Thursday's semifinal round, was led by Tarek Ammoury, who finished with a game-high 17 points.  Patrick Prewitt also reached double-digits in the scoring column with 10 points while Rockwell Moody gathered in a game-high 10 rebounds.

The game was a tale of two halves as Marymount shot 54.2% (13-for-24), including 3-for-4 from long range while Wesley knocked down just 24.2% (8-for-33), including just 2-for-16 from three-point land in the opening 20 minutes.

In the second half, the Saints' shooting dipped to just 30% from the field (9-for-30), including misses on all six three-point shots.  Wesley, meanwhile, rebounded with a 48.4 shooting performance in the last 20 minutes, hitting half of its 14 treys in the process. 

Marymount also had 19 total turnovers, including 11 in the second half, while Wesley had just 13 miscues, including five in the final 20 minutes.

Prewitt did all of his scoring in the first half as Marymount took a 31-21 lead to the break.   Wesley bounced back quickly, scoring the first eight points of the second frame before an Ammoury free throw stopped the run and gave the Saints a 32-29 lead with 16:38 remaining.

The teams traded hoops over the next seven minutes before a Sam Sentz layup with 9:08 left gave Marymount a 42-40 advantage -- the Saints' last lead of the game.

Thomas knocked down the first of consecutive three-pointers with 8:55 left to ignite Wesley's 16-point surge.  Stratton followed with a trey, and Thomas drained another long-range shot - his third in less than two minutes - to give the Wolverines a 52-42 lead.  Marymount never got closer than eight the rest of the way.