Senior point guard Mike Smelkinson tallied a game-high 20 points, hitting 9-of-11 at the free throw line, and dished out six assists to lead fourth-seeded St. Mary's to an 82-72 victory at second-seeded Mary Washington in the 2008 Capital Athletic Conference men's basketball championship game.

Forward Calvin Wise added 13 points and eight rebounds while guard Alex Franz chipped in 10 points as SMC (17-11) captured its's second CAC crown in the 18-year history (also in 1991) of the conference and earned its first-ever bid to the NCAA Championship Tournament.

Center Brandon Altmann (18 pts., 13 rebs.) and forward Jon Pierce (16 pts., 11 rebs.) both contributed double-doubles for UMW (18-9).  Guard Matt Hale and forward Justin Baker chipped in 15 and 11 points, respectively.

St. Mary's exploded in the first half, scoring 10-straight points in the middle of the period to gain a 34-16 advantage.  The lead reached 20 points twice in the opening half, including on a three-point shot by Mike Fitzpatrick with 13 second left that sent the Seahawks to the halftime break with a 46-26 lead.

 Alex Irmer scored eight of his nine points in the opening half and shared game-high scoring honors at the break with Franz.  Hale topped the hosts at the break with six points.

SMC's lead peaked at 24 points with 14:21 left in the game on a traditional three-point play by T.J. Jordan. 

The host Eagles began to chip away and cut the gap to 13 on several occasions in the middle of the period.  But the Seahawks and an answer each time, primarily from Smelkinson, who scored 13 points in the final 20 minutes to clinch the victory.

The NCAA will announce the Division III Men's Basketball Tournament pairings Monday (3/3) morning.