The 23rd ranked University of Mary Washington men's basketball team upset Randolph University, 74-67, on Saturday afternoon in Fredericksburg, Va. The Eagles improve to 8-1 on the season, in their 2022 closing game.
The Eagles looked shaky in the first 10 minutes of the match, getting outscored 23-2, off of five Wildcat 3-pointers. On a positive note, the Eagles outscored Randolph 22-11 in the last 10 minutes of the first half, putting the 1st half score at 34-22. Greg Rowson, Da'Shawn Cook, Dorian Davis, and Zach Blue shined in the first half; 2 3-pointers, 5 jump shots, and 6 free-throws.
The Eagles must have had an amazing halftime speech, because the Eagles outscored the Wildcats 52-33. It was a back-and-forth battle that showed Greg Rowson, Emmanuel Aghayere, and Da'Shawn Cook with big contributions. The Wildcats only stayed in the game due to 3-points that came from guard Danny Bickey. Even with his big game of 25 points, he could not will his team to a victory against UMW. Although both offenses were trading baskets for a good while, star fifth-year guard Da'Shawn Cook started the Eagles' comeback at the 5:25 mark with a steal on the defensive end and a beautiful layup through the middle of the paint. This was where the Wildcats saw Mary Washington in its true form, playing great defense and turning those stops into points on the other end. Greg Rowson made a 3, one basket inside the arc, and 2 free-throws, showing his dominance on both ends of the court. Da'Shawn Cook pushed the Eagles forward with 3 more buckets to end his performance. The Eagles went on a 13-5 run from the 5:25 mark, closing out this intense contest and adding another notch in the win column for the season and going into Christmas with a win.
Greg Rowson led the Eagles with 21 points on 6-12 shooting, 2-3 from beyond the arc, 7-8 from the line, adding seven rebounds, two steals, and one block. Cook cruised to 19 points on a strong second half with 5 assists and 5 rebounds while Dorian Davis had a great showing with 15 points, 5 rebounds and one per assists and steals, respectively. Emmanuel Aghayere put up eight points with some key shots and 8 rebounds to overcome Randolph College.
Mary Washington shot 25-58 from the field (43.1%), making 8-25 three point tries and 16-22 free throws. Randolph shot 23-57 (40.4%), making 14-34 three pointers and 7-9 free throws. Randolph led UMW in rebounds at 37-35, but were held back by UMWs' 2nd chance points, totaling at 23-6. UMW took advantage of Randolphs' offense with 12 steals and 19 total turnovers.
The Eagles will return to action on Monday December 19 when they travel to Ashland, VA to compete in the RMC Holiday Tournament vs. Stockton at 5:00 pm.