FREDERICK, Md.--The third-seeded Hood College men's basketball team erased a 12-point first-half deficit and battled to the final buzzer but came up short in their quest to advance in the Capital Athletic Conference Tournament Tuesday, falling 80-77 to No. 6 Marymount University in a quarterfinal matchup.

Marymount scored the first nine points of the ballgame and built a double-figure lead midway through the stanza. Hood cut the deficit to four with 4:32 to go in the first half on a Mike McCarrick three-pointer. Marymount countered with a triple by Marc Mazzuchi to push the lead back to seven. Tim Abercrombie scored five straight points to knot the score at 40-40 with 52 seconds left, but the Saints clung to a slim 41-40 edge after a Zach Wilmot free throw in the closing seconds.

The second half featured three ties and six lead changes, but Ronnie Barbour gave the Saints the lead for good on a three-pointer with 8:03 to play in regulation. The Blazers remained in striking distance but were unable to regain the upperhand down the stretch.

McCarrick's second triple of the night drew Hood to within 73-71 with 30 seconds to go. After a Hood timeout, Arthur Claybon fouled Shaun Ingram on the inbounds who went to the line for a one-and-one opportunity. He nailed both foul shots to make it a four-point game. A three-pointer by Ryan Junghans was off the mark and Mazzuchi came down with the carom for Marymount. Fred Stanback knocked down two more clutch free throws with 10 seconds left to give MU a 77-71 lead.

Hood wouldn't go away though; Junghans swished another triple try to make it a one-possession game with six seconds left. Hood used a 30-second timeout and once again fouled Ingram on the inbounds. After Ingram nailed both foul shots, Abercrombie buried another three for Hood to make it a two-point Marymount lead.

Hood burned another timeout and fouled Fred Stanback with two seconds left. Stanback missed the first but made the second, leaving the door slightly ajar for a potential game-tying shot by the Blazers. But Hood was unable to get a good look at the basket before time expired and the Saints escaped with the victory.

Abercrombie paced the Blazers with 20 points and three assists off the bench. Junghans finished with 15 points while Mark McGlone and Allen Kees each chipped in 11 points on the night.

Stanback and Elvis Ellis tallied 16 points apiece for the victors, who will travel to No. 2 University of Mary Washington Thursday for a CAC semifinal matchup.