STEVENSON, Md.--The Hood College men's basketball team opened the 2005-06 season with a sixth-place finish at the inaugural Pride of Maryland Tournament last weekend.

The Blazers dropped a 90-81 decision to Washington College in Friday's opening round before rebounding with a 71-59 win over Goucher Saturday afternoon. Hood closed out the tournament with a narrow 65-63 loss to Frostburg State Sunday.

Junior forward Santo Provenzano was named to the all-tournament team after scoring 74 points and grabbing 19 rebounds in three contests.

Washington 90, Hood 81
In Friday's season opener held at Goucher College, Kyle Stem scored 29 points and Jonathan Webb added 27 to pace the Shoremen to the win.

Hood held a 39-35 halftime lead and pushed its advantage to 61-51 with 11:10 remaining. However, Washington closed to within 73-68 with 5:03 left and used an 11-2 run to take the lead for good.

After Hood pulled to within 82-79 on a lay-up by Provenzano with 1:58 remaining, the Shoremen scored the next eight points to put the game away.

Provenzano, who ranked ninth in the nation in scoring at 23.8 points per game last season, led all players with 33 points and 10 rebounds. He shot 13-for-18 from the floor and 7-of-11 from the line.

Freshman Tim Abercrombie added 15 points in his collegiate debut, while junior Darnell Edmonds added 10 points and dished out a game-high five assists.

The Shoremen shot 34-of-52 from the free-throw line. The 52 attempts are a Goucher Sports & Recreation Center record.

Hood 71, Goucher 59
On Saturday, the Blazers regrouped and posted a 71-59 win over Goucher at Villa Julie College behind 23 points and 12 rebounds from sophomore Jesse Gutekunst.

Hood raced out to a 13-3 lead after the first five minutes and held a 36-27 advantage at the break.

With the game tied at 48 midway through the second half, the Blazers pulled away behind an 11-0 run that was sparked by a 3-point play by Gutekunst, who added four assists, two blocks and two steals.

Washington closed to within six, 61-55, with 3:06 remaining but Hood sealed the win by hitting 11-of-13 from the free-throw line over the final 1:42.

Provenzano finished with 16 points, while junior Sean Robine added nine points and 11 rebounds, including 10 on the defensive end.

Goucher was led by James Russo's 23 points and Johnathan Garritt's 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Frostburg State 65, Hood 53
In Sunday's battle for fifth place, senior Dan Ryley snapped a 58-58 tie with a lay-up with just under two minutes remaining and added two free throws in the final 20 seconds to seal the win for the Bobcats.

Frostburg State jumped out to a 10-2 lead but the Blazers countered with a 19-3 run over the next eight minutes to open a 21-13 advantage. The Bobcats cut Hood's lead to a single point four times before taking a 34-31 edge at halftime.

The Blazers then scored 12 straight points to turn a 46-40 deficit into a 52-46 lead with 8:27 to play, but Frostburg State responded again and eventually pulled even at 58.

Hood could not overcome a 3-of-27 shooting performance from 3-point range and 19 turnovers. Provenzano hit 10-of-13 from the field and finished with a game-high 25 points. Gutekunst had another strong performance with 22 points--12 from the free-throw line--and 18 rebounds.

Ryley, who was named to the all-tournament team, led Frostburg State with 21 points and 13 rebounds, while junior Brian Owen added 19 points.