Junior guard TJ Jones hit the game winning jumper from 18 feet with .9 seconds left to lift the University of Mary Washington men's basketball team to a 68-67 victory at Wesley College on Wednesday night in Capital Athletic Conference action. The Eagles, who gain their first-ever win at Wesley in nine all-time meetings, improve to 7-5 overall, and 3-2 in CAC play.
The Wolverines started fast, and freshman guard Mark Madison kept the Eagles in the game early, scoring UMW's first 10 points. Wesley charged ahead, 19-10, in the opening nine minutes of play. UMW answered with a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 19-17, capped by a Jones three pointer.
After a Wesley free throw, junior Matt Forrest hit a three pointer to tie the score at 20-20 with 7:40 to play, but the Wolverines answered with a 13-6 streak to lead, 33-26, with 2:30 remaining in the half.
Junior John Lutkenhaus and Jones hit three pointers before an Emerson Burk layup gave UMW its first lead, at 34-33 with a minute left. Wesley scored the final basket of the half to lead, 35-34, at intermission.
Wesley again started strong in the second half, scoring the first five points, before UMW answered with eight straight, led by a pair of Lutkenhaus three pointers, to grab a 44-40 lead with 14:09 left. The game went back and forth, with six lead changes and three ties over the next seven minutes, until Wesley scored five straight to take a 58-53 lead with 5:38 to go.
The Wolverines held a second half-high eight point lead at 65-57 with 3:35 left, and after the teams traded baskets, led 67-59 with 2:34 on the clock. But from there, UMW scored the final nine points of the game.
After a pair of Lutkenhaus free throws, Madison hit a three pointer, and Lutkenhaus hit a layup after a Wolverine turnover to cut the deficit to 67-66. After the Wolverines missed a pair of free throws with 10 seconds left, Jones dribbled from the backcourt to the top of the key, where his jumper hit paydirt with .9 seconds left. Wesley's halfcourt toss at the buzzer sailed high.
Madison led the Eagles with 15 points on 5-12 shooting, including four three pointers, while Lutkenhaus added 14 to go with a season-high 12 rebounds. Junior Brent Mahoney added 12 off the bench for the Eagles, while Wesley was led by Anthony Bowers with 18 points.
The Eagles shot 39% from the field (23-59), making 12-36 three pointers and 10-17 free throws, while Wesley shot 46.4% (26-56), with 2-9 on three pointers and 13-18 on free throws. Wesley controlled the boards, 42-29, but committed 20 turnovers.
Mary Washington will return home on Saturday to host Salisbury University at 3:00 p.m. in another key CAC showdown. The game will be the Eagles' Win 4 Wesley Day, honoring local cancer patient Wesley Berry.