OWINGS MILLS, Md. - After trailing by as many as 16 points early in the second half, the Stevenson men's basketball team rallied to tie the game for the first time with 1:30 remaining, but missed three attempts in the final 22 seconds, allowing St. Mary's (Md.) to escape with a 59-56 victory Saturday at Owings Mills Gymnasium.

The Mustangs (4-13, 1-7 CAC) trailed 41-25 with 18:45 to play in the second half following a dunk by the Seahawks' Christian MacAuley.

Stevenson responded with a 14-2 run to cut its deficit to four, 43-39 with 13:28 left, before St. Mary's pushed its advantage back to nine, 54-45 with 5:13 remaining.

Keyed by nine points from junior Brandon Carroll (Randallstown, Md./Archbishop Curley), the Mustangs went on an 11-2 run to tie the game for the first time at 56-56 on a jumper in the paint by Carroll with 1:30 to play.

However, St. Mary's (13-5, 7-2 CAC) immediately regained the lead on a three-pointer by Devin Spencer, his third of the game, with 51 seconds left on the Seahawks' ensuing possession.

Following a timeout, Stevenson would have three attempts in the final 22 seconds, but could not get a score before a last chance three-pointer by senior Greg Collins (Baltimore, Md./Western Tech) with five seconds remaining was grabbed by MacAuley, preserving the win for St. Mary's.

In the first meeting between the two teams, the Mustangs led by 14 points before the Seahawks rallied to win in overtime on December 3.

Prior to this season, Stevenson had lost the previous five decisions against St. Mary's by 24 points or more. In two meetings this season, the Mustangs dropped both contests to the two-time defending CAC champions by a combined 10 points.

Stevenson was led by a career-high 20 points from sophomore Stefon McCray (Milton, Fla./Archbishop Curley) who totaled his first career 20-point performance. Carroll and junior Brett Burrier (Westminster, Md./Winters Mill) each had 11 points while McCray and Burrier both had a team-high six rebounds.

Spencer led the Seahawks with 11 points while Brendan McFall had 10. MacAuley totaled eight points and nine rebounds.

Stevenson travels to Hood on Monday for a CAC contest at BB&T Arena beginning at 7:00 p.m.