Senior forward Dylan Farinet scored 42 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, and dished out five assists to lead the #20 University of Mary Washington men's basketball team to an 88-47 win over Penn State-Harrisburg on Saturday afternoon at the Anderson Center. The Eagles improve to 13-2 overall and 7-1 in Capital Athletic Conference play.
The Eagles took charge early on Saturday, making six of their first eight three-point attempts in jumping out to a 21-7 lead over the first seven minutes, with Farinet and senior Bradley Riester each making a pair of three-pointers in the run. The Lions closed the gap to 11 at 21-10 with 13:03 left in the half, but the Eagles then scored nine of the next 10 points, led by five from Riester, to lead, 30-11 with 10:36 remaining.
UMW kept the lead between 13 and 18 points for the remainder of the half, with junior Taylor Johnson hitting a pair of free throws with .2 seconds left to give the hosts a 41-25 halftime advantage. Farinet scored 15 in the first half, with Riester adding 13 and Johnson 11.
The Eagles opened up the lead to 20 in the second half as Farinet scored 11 of UMW's first 12 points. UMW gradually built the lead to 30 at 73-43 with 5:33 to go, and UMW closed the game on a 19-4 run for the 88-47 victory.
Farinet made 14-21 shots in the game, including 8-12 three pointers, and went 6-6 from the free throw line. He added 12 rebounds, five assists, and a steal without committing a turnover. He breaks the previous school mark of 40 set by Mike Lee in 2006.
"This is the time when my game steps up a notch", said Farinet afterward. "Back to high school, coming off holiday break, I get rested, and just play hard. We just need to keep playing one day at a time, and trying to get better every possession and every game."
Riester went 7-9 from the floor en route to 17 points, and Johnson shot 2-3 from the field and 7-8 from the line for his 12 points. Harrisburg was led by Joey Farthing's 12 points.
"It's gratifying to see our kids play at a very high level", said UMW head coach Rod Wood. "We knew they are a good team, coming off their win over CNU, and I'm proud of our effort. Every player just goes so hard... Today we played without freshman guard Mike Sniezek (who suffered an injury at practice Friday), who ups the level at practice every day and makes everyone better. The guys put his #12 jersey on the bench, played for him today, and didn't want to let Mike down."
The Eagles shot 28-55 from the floor (50.9%), making 14-33 three pointers, and went 18-22 from the free throw line. Harrisburg shot 30% (15-50), making 5-23 three pointers, and was 12-23 from the line. UMW led in rebounds, 40-31.
Mary Washington will host Southern Virginia University on Wednesday night at 8:00 p.m. in another CAC contest.