St. Mary's senior guard Alex Franz registered team highs of 17 points and seven assists, leading four Seahawks into double figures in the scoring column, in an 85-74 SMC victory over Buffalo State in the NCAA Men's Basketball Sweet 16 Friday. 

The 13th-ranked Seahawks advance to Saturday's Elite 8 round for the first time in team history.  SMC will face 2nd-ranked Middlebury Saturday at 7 p.m. at the University of Rochester (N.Y.).

Joining Franz, the CAC Player of the Year, in the attack for the Seahawks was CAC Rookie of the Year Christian MacAuley (15 pts., 6 rebs.), senior center Sam Burum (12 pts., 5 rebs.) and senior Mike Fitzpatrick (11 pts.).

St. Mary's scoring balance overpowered Buffalo State's two-pronged attack.  BSU was led by Justin Mitchell's game-high double-doubles of 27 points (11-for-19 FG) and 14 rebounds.  The Bengals also got 17 points from Jake Simmons, but only one other player had more than five points in the game.

St. Mary’s took control in the early stages of the game. MacAuley scored 9 straight points, 6 which came on dunks, as the Seahawks went up 13-4 with 15:45 to go in the first half.

However, Buffalo State mounted a comeback to work their way back into the game. A Simmons three pointer brought St. Mary’s lead down to 15-11 with 13:31 to go. Just under three minutes later, Anthony Hammer was fouled on a layup attempt. He converted both foul shots to tie the game at 18, and then the Bengals took their first lead of the game, 20-18, on a Seth Runge layup with 7:45 left in the first half.

The rest of the first half was a back and forth affair, as there were 7 lead changes in the final 7 minutes of the half. However, St. Mary’s went on an 8-0 run in the final two minutes of the half, highlighted by a Deon Queen three pointer with 58 seconds to play, as the Seahawks took a 40-32 lead into halftime.

St. Mary’s opened the 2^nd half with a 9-2 run, highlighted by Devin Spencer giving the Seahawks a 48-40 lead with 16:20 to go. A Burum layup 12:19 to go gave St. Mary’s a 61-46 lead, their largest lead of the game at that point.

However, Buffalo State wasn’t finished, as they worked their way back into the game with a furious comeback. Ahmed Nagaya slammed home a dunk with 12:03 to go.  On the ensuing St. Mary’s possession, Mitchell blocked a shot, and Simmons took the ball the length of the court for a layup, as Buffalo State reduced the St. Mary’s lead from 15 to 11 in 30 seconds.

The Bengals continued their comeback, as Simmons hit a three with 6:54 to go to make the score St. Mary’s 60, Buffalo State 62. After St. Mary’s was held scoreless on the next two possessions, Mitchell, who was Buffalo State’s leading scorer with 27 points, and Nagaya hit back to back layups, as the Bengals cut the St. Mary’s lead down to 3, as the score stood at 69-66 with 6:04 to play.

Ultimately, St. Mary’s was too tough for the Bengals.  The Seahawks reeled off six consecutive points, highlighted by a Kyle Wise layup with 4:14 to go, giving St. Mary’s a 75-66 lead. Buffalo State was held to just eight points in the game’s final two and a half minutes, as St. Mary’s earned their first-ever trip to the Elite 8, where they will face Middlebury on Saturday at 7 p.m.