Freshman Eric Shaw scored 19 points and senior Taylor Johnson added 16 to lead the University of Mary Washington men's basketball team to a 70-61 win at Penn State Harrisburg on Saturday in Capital Athletic Conference action. The Eagles improve to 3-12 overall and 3-5 in CAC play.
The lead swung back and forth in the early going, with each team briefly holding the lead in the opening minutes. But the Eagles exploded for an 18-0 run, spurred by five points from Johnson and three pointers from Matt Forrest and Brent Mahoney, and UMW led, 23-7, with 12:16 remaining in the half.
Six straight points from the Lions cut the deficit to 23-13, and in the next five minutes another run cut the Eagle lead all the way down to one at 25-24 with 5:15 remaining. The Lions retook the lead seconds later, but UMW ended the half on a 9-0 run spurred by four points from sophomore John Lutkenhaus. The Eagles led, 38-30, at halftime.
The Lions chipped away at the deficit over the first 10 minutes of the second half, and the score stood tied at 48 with 9:09 to play. The lead then changed hands five times over the next six minutes, but a Lutkenhaus three pointer with 5:17 left tied the score, and Shaw followed with a basket to give UMW the lead for good with 4:27 to play.
Lutkenhaus followed with another big three to push the lead to five, at 62-57, with with 4:03 to go. Shaw hit a pair of free throws, and the game would come no closer than two possessions difference the rest of the way, as UMW held on for the nine-point win.
Shaw led with 19 points, going 6-11 from the floor and 7-9 from the line. Johnson went 11-12 from the line en route to 16 points, and added a team-high eight rebounds. Tyler Thurston and Lutkenhaus each scored 10 for the Eagles, who have won two straight.
The Eagles shot 20-55 (36.4%), making 22-32 free throws and 8-24 three pointers. PSH shot 22-59 (37.3%), with 10-15 free throws and 7-21 three pointers. The Eagles led in rebounds, 40-36, and forced 19 Lion turnovers.
The Eagles return to action on Wednesday night when they visit Christopher Newport University at 7:30 p.m. in another CAC matchup.