The University of Mary Washington men's basketball team dug itself a hole to start the second half and could never dig out in a 69-58 loss at nationally-ranked St. Mary's College on Saturday afternoon in Capital Athletic Conference play. The Eagles fall to 12-6 overall and 6-4 in league action.

UMW started by holding a slim lead through the first 11 minutes, but a 10-2 St. Mary's run upped their lead to 27-19 with 4:39 left in the first half. The Eagles were able to cut the deficit to two before trailing, 29-25, at halftime.

In much the same way the first battle between the two teams collided, St. Mary's opened the second half on a roll, scoring nine straight and advancing its lead to as many as 20 points in the second half. The Eagles were able to stick around this time, cutting the deficit to as few as seven several times, but could draw no closer.

The Eagles shot 34% from the field with six three pointers, while St. Mary's shot 42% with three threes. The Eagles were just 10-24 from the free throw line. UMW was led by freshman E.J. Willis (Alexandria, Va., T.C. Williams), who had 16 points and added five rebounds, while freshman Bradley Riester (Richmond, Va., Monacan) added 13. Junior Tad Dickman (Springfield, Va., Robert E. Lee) had 12 points and eight rebounds.

Senior Sam Burum had 20 to lead St. Mary's.

The Eagles will visit Marymount University on Monday night at 8:00 p.m. in another CAC contest.