FREDERICK, Md.--Junior Jesse Gutekunst recorded the first triple-double in Hood College men's basketball history to lead the Blazers to an 83-74 double-overtime victory over Marymount University Wednesday evening in a Capital Athletic Conference game at Gov. Thomas Johnson High School.
This was the first meeting between these two squads, and it was surely one the Hood faithful will remember as the Saints and Blazers needed 50 minutes to settle the verdict. The Blazers won their third game in a row and improve to 10-3 overall and 4-1 in the CAC while the Saints fall to 5-7, 1-4 CAC.
Gutekunst was a force at both ends of the court, scoring 26 points, grabbing 12 rebounds and blocking a school-record 12 shots. His 12 blocks are also the highest single-game total in NCAA Division III this season.
Hood, now 4-0 at home, got off to a fast start scoring the first nine points of the game and led by as many as 16, 24-8, at the midway point of the stanza. But the Saints rallied to close within six in the final minute and the Blazers took an eight-point edge into the locker room.
Gutekunst rewrote his own school record in the first half by rejecting eight Marymount field goal attempts, eclipsing his previous high of seven.
The Blazers maintained their advantage until the 6:24 mark when a pair of free throws by Elvis Ellis tied the score at 55-55. Hood immediately responded on its next possession on a three-pointer by sophomore Ryan Junghans. But back-to-back triples by Fred Stanback gave Marymount its first lead of the game with just under four minutes remaining.
Hood scored six quick points on a trio of layups in a span of just over a minute to regain a 64-61 edge with 2:39 to play. After an Ellis layup cut the deficit to one, the Saints took a timeout. Marymount forced a Blazer turnover on the ensuing possession. Corey Diamond's layup was then blocked by Gutekunst but Diamond managed to grab the offensive rebound. A three-pointer by Bryant Majors was off the mark and Gutekunst came down with another critical carom.
On Hood's next possession, with the shot clock winding down, junior Arthur Claybon put up a shot just before the buzzer that rimmed out, and Gutekunst muscled his way to the ball and tipped it to himself. Marymount's Majors was whistled for an intentional foul on Gutekunst, who went to the line for two shots. He calmly hit both to give the Blazers a 66-63 lead with 29 seconds left.
Hood maintained possession after the intentional foul and just six seconds into the action Diamond fouled Claybon. Playing in just his second game of the season and making his first trip to the foul line, Claybon was unable to convert the foul shots, which gave the Saints one last shot at a game-tying shot. Stanbeck drilled one of his five three-pointers to tie the game at 66-66.
The Blazers then called timeout and on the ensuing play, worked the ball around to Junghans, whose three-pointer from the top of the key rimmed out, sending the game into overtime.
In the first overtime session, the Blazers had to come from behind twice and eventually took a 70-69 lead on a great pick-and-roll play as Edmonds fed Gutekunst under the hoop for the layin. The Saints misfired on three straight attempts at the other end and the Blazers finally got the ball back after a Marymount player inadvertently knocked it out of bounds. Junghans sank 1-of-2 free throws to put Hood ahead, 71-69, but the Saints responded with a layup by Brandon Parker to send the game into a second overtime.
Gutekunst dominated the second overtime period, scoring eight of Hood's 12 points, including a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe, in addition to blocking two shots and grabbing two key rebounds. The Saints connected on just 1-of-8 from the floor in the second overtime stanza.
Junghans led all scorers with 32 points while Edmonds finished with 12 points and six assists.
The Blazers, now tied for second place in the CAC standings, look to make it four wins in a row when they host CAC rival Goucher College Saturday at 2 p.m. at Gov. Thomas Johnson High School.
