The University of Mary Washington dropped a 71-66 decision to visiting Hampden-Sydney College on Sunday in the South Region Shootout at the Ron Rosner Arena, falling to 2-2 on the season. The Eagles nearly pulled off a late comeback attempt, but fell just shy as time expired.
The Eagles played out of a hole early, after falling behind 6-0 to start the game. The Eagles fought back to take a 9-8 lead, as junior Brent Mahoney connected on a three pointer to cap a 6-0 run with 13:19 left in the first half.
Mahoney then helped push the lead to five, at 15-10, for the Eagles with a layup and free throw, and UMW led for the next nine minutes before a Tiger rally gave them the lead at 25-24 with 2:37 left.
Freshman Jacob Williams hit a three pointer and junior Asa Scott added a layup to push UMW's lead back to four, with 1:15 to go, but the Tigers scored the last two baskets of the half, including a layup at the buzzer from Josh Lancaster to tie the score at halftime, 29-29.
After trading baskets to start the second half, Hampden-Sydney went on a 15-3 run to take a 46-34 lead with 13:35 remaining. The Eagles chipped away at the deficit with three straight baskets from junior John Lutkenhaus, trailing by eight with 9:23 left. HSC used a 9-2 run to lead, 63-48, with 6:07 left, but a three pointer from freshman Mark Madison kickstarted a run for the Eagles, who used an 8-0 run in the final minutes to cut the score to 69-66 with five seconds remaining.
Forced to foul, UMW fouled JaVonte Reddick with two seconds left, but he connected on both free throws to give the Tigers the five-point victory.
Lutkenhaus, Mahoney, and T.J. Jones each 12 points to lead UMW, while Scott added 10 points. Lutkenhaus and Mahoney each had a team-high seven rebounds. Mike Murray had 12 to lead Hampden-Sydney.
The Eagles shot 35.4% from the field (23-65), making 7-31 three pointers and 13-17 free throws. HSC shot 52.9% (27-51), connecting on 3-8 three pointers and 14-27 free throws. The Tigers led in rebounds, 41-37.
Mary Washington will return to action on Saturday, when they will face Bryn Athyn College at Cabrini College at 4:00 p.m.