Riester's 17 Leads UMW Men's Basketball Past Southern Va., 62-54

Riester's 17 Leads UMW Men's Basketball Past Southern Va., 62-54

Junior guard Bradley Riester scored a game-high 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the University of Mary Washington men's basketball team to a 62-54 win over Southern Virginia University on Saturday at the Anderson Center. The Eagles improve to 12-11, while the Knights fall to 12-6.

The Eagles jumped out to an 8-1 lead, junior E.J. Willis and Riester hit three pointers early. The Knights closed the gap to 9-7 with 15:02 left, but UMW then scored 11 of the game's next 12 points to assume a 20-8 cushion with 11:04 remaining.Southern Virginia closed the half on a 9-0 run stopped by a pair of Lamonte Fields free throws in the final seconds. UMW led, 27-23, at intermission.

The second half saw the Knights quickly hit a three pointer to cut the score to 27-26, and tied the score at 30 with 17:11 remaining. From there, the Knights assumed the lead for the next 12 minutes of play, as SVU led by as many as six twice. A jumper by Riester with 6:56 left cut the deficit to 45-42, and after a SVU free throw, substitutes Antonio Ortega and Gaither Mason each hit a pair of free throws to tie the score at 46 with 3:53 remaining.

From there, Sean Armstrong scored the next three points, followed by a Riester three pointer with 2:23 left give UMW a 52-46 lead. Dylan Farinet hit a pair of free throws, and Taylor Johnson hit two more with 1:03 left to give UMW a 57-49 advantage. Johnson would hit two more with 25 seconds left to push UMW's lead to 61-51, and another free throw with 16 seconds left capped the scoring at 62-54.

UMW's defense was the key late, as the Eagles forced five turnovers in the final 4:55 of play. Riester was the lone Eagle in double figures with 17 points, while Farinet scored eight points and grabbed eight rebounds, and Willis added eight points and six boards. SVU was led by Isaac Jacobson's 13 points.

The Eagles shot 35% from the floor for the game (16-46) with seven three-point baskets, while the Knights shot 38% (22-58) with six three pointers. UMW was 23-30 from the line, while SVU 4-11. UMW led in rebounding, 40-34.

UMW will host York College of Pa. on Wednesday night for senior night at 8:00 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the Eagle women.