The University of Mary Washington men's basketball team dropped a 73-63 decision to third ranked Christopher Newport University on Wednesday evening in the Ron Rosner Arena. The Eagles fall to 10-10 on the season and 6-7 in Capital Athletic Conference play. Eric Shaw made a career-high five three-pointers to lead the Eagles with 25 points and seven rebounds.
The Eagles were up early, 4-3, in the first two minutes as Johnny Cronin hit a free throw and Shaw drilled his first triple. The two teams exchanged buckets over the next eight minutes, which included seven lead changes, until CNU grabbed the lead at 16-15 at the 9:25 mark.
The Captains pushed the lead to nine at 24-15, but the Eagles responded and cut the deficit to three, at 26-23, with 4:00 left off a John Lutkenhaus three-pointer. Lutkenhaus followed with a layup and A.J. Robinson knocked down a triple to keep the deficit at three, at 31-28, heading into the break.
CNU came out hot in the second half, scoring the first eight points, and extending the lead to 39-28. Shaw responded with another three-pointer and Lutkenhaus added a free throw to cut the lead to 39-32 with 15:53 remaining.
By the 10:38 mark, CNU had built the lead up to 13, but the Eagles continued to chip away. Shaw knocked down two free throws and Cronin hit a lay up to bring the Eagles back within nine, at 54-45, with 9:47 left in the game.
CNU answered and pushed the lead back to 61-49 by the 7:51 mark. Shaw then poured in eight, while Robinson and Jamal Newton each had two to bring the Eagles within nine with 2:29 left in the game. Jacob Williams hit two free throws with 24 seconds left to cap the scoring at 73-63.
Shaw was 8-14 from the field, making 5-8 three-pointers and 4-4 free throws. Robinson added 10 points and six boards off the bench.
Mary Washington shot 29.7% from the field (19-64), making 8-20 three-pointers and 17-26 free throws. Christopher Newport shot 42.1% from the field (24-57), making 11-20 three pointers and 14-25 free throws. The Eagles held a 46-44 advantage on the boards.
The Eagles are back in action on Saturday as they visit Frostburg State at 3:00 pm.