Freshman Eric Shaw scored a team-high 17 points to lead the University of Mary Washington men's basketball team to a 63-61 victory at Marymount University on Tuesday night in the Capital Athletic Conference tournament first round. The sixth-seeded Eagles will visit Salisbury University on Thursday night at 8:00 p.m. in the semifinals.

In a 40-minute long battle back and forth, the Eagles started with a pair of three pointers from senior Taylor Johnson and a pair of Shaw buckets to take an early 10-8 lead. After six straight points from the Saints, the Eagles were able to trim the deficit to one at 16-15 on an Isaac Blue layup with 11:28 remaining in the half.

Marymount then used a pair of three pointers to key a 10-0 run that propelled their lead to 26-15 with 8:49 to play. Sophomore Asa Scott then hit a pair of three pointers to cut the deficit to 29-21. The Eagles held the Saints scoreless for the final 3:32 and provided five points to cut the halftime deficit to 35-30.

The second half started with a back-and forth scoring streak that saw Scott made a basket and three pointer to cut the deficit to 41-37. Emerson Burk and Ty Thurston followed with layups inside to tie the score at 41 with 12:01 left.

After the Saints took the lead, sophomore John Lutkenhaus followed with a jumper and three pointer to give UMW a 46-45 lead, and Burk layup gave UMW a 48-45 lead with 8:45 to play. A pair of Shaw baskets and another three from Lutkenhaus upped the Eagle advantage to 55-49 with 7:05 remaining.

After a Saints basket trimmed the lead to two, the teams traded three point baskets, and a three pointer from the Saints cut the score to 62-61 with 2:12 on the clock. The only point in the final 3:33 was a free throw from Thurston, giving UMW the win.

"I'm very proud of our effort and commitment to finishing out the game", said head coach Marcus Kahn. "We have been in a ton of close ones this year so we were definitely prepared for the situations down the stretch."

The Eagles shot 46.2% from the field (24-52), making 9-17 three pointers and 6-9 free throws. Marymount shot 48.1% (26-54), with 4-13 three pointers and 5-13 on free throws. Marymount held a 32-31 rebounding edge.

Shaw led the Eagles with 17 points on 8-15 shooting and grabbed six rebounds, while Scott had 11 points, eight rebounds, and four assists, and Johnson added 11.

The Eagles will visit second-seeded Salisbury University on Thursday in the semifinal round at 8:00 p.m.