Sophomore Sean Armstrong scored 22 points and junior Dom Morra added 16 points and four steals in leading the University of Mary Washington men's basketball team to an 82-81 victory over Keene State College on Friday at the Team Hill Holiday Tournament in Montclair, N.J.
In a game the Eagles led for much of the night, the Owls fought back near the end of each half. UMW raced to a 23-12 lead early, as seven different players scored the Eagles' first 23 points. Keene State was able to fight back, inching closer over the final 10:29 to carry a 35-35 score to halftime.
In the second, a Morra three pointer with 12:25 to go gave UMW a 13-point lead at 61-48. The Owls made a run to tie the score at 67 with 6:52 to play, but as soon as the score was tied, UMW made a 6-0 run to return the lead to seven at 73-67 with 4:28 left.
Leading by one at 81-80 with 16 seconds left, Morra hit a free throw to move the advantage to 82-80. With less than one second left, Keene State's Eric Fazio made one free throw but missed the second, giving UMW the win.
Armstrong went 7-11 from the floor and 8-11 from the free throw line en route to 22 points, while junior guard Bradley Riester added 20 points before fouling out. Morra went 5-9 from the floor and the line for 16 points, and added four steals. Sophomore Taylor Johnson had eight points and 10 rebounds for the Eagles.
Anthony Mariano had 27 to lead Keene State, who falls to 5-4 on the year. The Eagles will face the winner of Montclair State and Bridgewater State on Saturday at 3 p.m. for the tournament title.