The University of Mary Washington men's basketball team dropped a 72-66 decision at York College on Saturday to fall to 5-3 on the season, and 2-1 in Capital Athletic Conference action. The Eagles were led by junior guard T.J. Jones' 15 points and six rebounds.
The Eagles started strong, as junior John Lutkenhaus hit his first two three point attempts to put UMW ahead, 6-5. But unfortunately, Lutkenhaus was whistled for his second foul just seconds later, and missed significant minutes the rest of the half.
A Mark Madison three pointer put the Eagles up, 9-5, and the Eagles held the lead until midway through the half, when York used a layup to take a 14-13 edge. But Asa Scott answered with a three pointer to give the lead back to UMW, 16-14, with 9:58 left in the half.
York then went on a 9-0 run to take a 25-18 advantage, but a pair of Jones baskets led a charge that got the score tied back up at 27-27 with 1:40 remaining. A Brent Mahoney layup gave the Eagles a 29-28 lead, but York ended the half with a pair of layups to lead, 32-29, at intermission.
In the second, Jones got the Eagles back to one back with the opening bucket, but York scored eight straight to take a 40-31 lead. After the teams traded three pointers, UMW scored four straight to cut the deficit to 43-38 with 13:01 left.
Matt Forrest hit his second three pointer in as many minutes to keep the deficit at seven, but each time the Eagles would get the deficit to a two-possession game, York would use a spurt to maintain its lead.
An Asa Scott free throw with 6:00 left got the deficit to six, and a Scott layup with 1:44 left cut it to four, but UMW would come no closer as York connected from the free throw line.
Jones led UMW with 15 points, and tied for the team lead with six rebounds. Freshman LJ Baylor added nine points off the bench on 3-3 shooting from long range. Scot had seven points and five assists.
UMW shot 24-62 from the field (38.7%), including 9-31 on three pointers, and 9-16 on free throws. York shot 21-38 from the field (55.3%), making 4-12 three pointers and 26-33 free throws. The Eagles held a 32-31 rebounding edge, and forced 17 Spartan turnovers.
The Eagles will return to action on Wednesday when they host Virginia Wesleyan College at 7:00 p.m., as the Eagles honor Ron Rosner by dedicating the arena to him at halftime. Admission for the game, in conjunction with Community Day, is free for all fans.