The University of Mary Washington men's basketball team pulled away late in the second half to defeat Shenandoah University, 80-74, on Monday afternoon in Winchester, VA. The Eagles started slow, but picked it up in the end to secure the win. UMW improves to 7-2 on the season. Riley Welch went 4-5 from three-point range and 5-6 from the free throw line to lead the Eagles with 17 points.
In the early going, UMW got out to a slow start as they didn't score over the first 4:15 until Johnny Cronin made a layup. Shenandoah took advantage if that slow start and got out to a 6-2 lead. With 12:05 remaining in the half, the Hornets pushed their lead to 12, 16-4. The Eagles then went on a 9-2 run that was capped by a Da'Shawn Cook jump shot to get back in the game and go down just five, 18-13.
Shenandoah maintained their lead and went up eight, 25-17, with just 6:40 to go in the half. After a Jacob Williams layup to get the Eagles within six, the Hornets went on a 6-0 run to go up 12, 31-19. UMW then used an 13-2 run to get within one, 33-32. During the run, Welch knocked down two three-pointers that sparked the team. The Hornets scored a layup right before the half ended, and they took a 40-37 lead into the break.
The Hornets grew their lead to six, 47-41, with 17:37 to play. Mark Madison had a three-point play the old fashioned way and then Greg Rowson knocked down a three-pointer to tie the game at 47. UMW took their first lead of the ball game, 50-49, with 15:30 remaining on a layup by Williams.
A.J. Robinson grew the lead to four, 55-51, as he knocked down a three-pointer on an assist from Cook. After Welch made two free throws, Mike Janowski came off the bench to knock down a three-pointer and give UMW its largest lead of the game at eight, 65-57, with 10 minutes remaining.
Cook knocked down two free throws with 6:56 to play but the Hornets scored four straight points to get within two, 69-67. Shenandoah knocked down a three-pointer with 4:51 to play that gave them a one point advantage, 72-71. After 1:51 of neither team scoring, Cook put the ball in the basket and gave the Eagles the lead for good. Cronin made a late layup, and UMW knocked down several free throws to close out the game and get the win 80-74.
Williams had 12 points, nine rebounds, four assists, two steals, and zero turnovers in the game. Cook and Rowson each had 13 points a piece, and Cronin added 10 points to go along with six rebounds.
UMW shot 26-56 (46.4%) from the field, 9-30 (30.0%) from three-point range, and 19-25 (76.0%) from the free throw line. The Eagles out-rebounded the Hornets 40-39 and dished out 12 assists.
UMW will be back in action on Saturday, Dec. 29th, as they will head to Salem to take on John Carroll in the Roanoke Holiday Tournament at 2 p.m.