The 20th ranked University of Mary Washington men's basketball team dropped a 79-69 decision to Catholic University on Tuesday evening in Fredericksburg, Va. The Eagles fall to 11-3 on the season.

The Eagles kept the score close and pushed on both ends of the court until 10 minutes into the game and the Catholic University Cardinals got a small lead at 21-16 at 10:05. Contributions from Da'Shawn Cook, Zach Blue, Greg Rowson, and Daniel Peterson kept the Eagles in the game along with defense that would would bend, but not break. The score at the half had the Cardinals up 34-28.

Senior Da'Shawn Cook came out strong in the first few minutes of the second half, with 6 points that would open up looks for his teammates. However, the Eagles deficit would increase as the minutes went by and wind up at 62-48 at the 9:10 mark in the 2^nd half. Zack Blue and Dorian Davis connected on shots throughout the first 10 minutes of the second half to keep the Eagles in the game, while defense and continuous effort by the team and especially Greg Rowson told the Cardinals that the Eagles would continue to fight. Lead changes throughout the game were slim, which allowed both teams to shine lights on their scorers and solid defense.

Consistency and resilience on the part of Catholic University allowed them to find at the free throw line starting at 3:55 and they would not journey from it except for one layup at the thirty second mark. Newly added junior Matias Prock found himself with 4 points by the off the Eagles' bench and showed that he is consistent and reliable when put in the game. Both teams spread the ball and were evenly matched in points off turnovers and 2^nd chance points, with a bright spot for UMW in the rebound department at 39-38. This game was exciting and high scoring, which led total turnovers to just 15, at a 7-8 split on behalf of Mary Washington.

Rowson led the Eagles with 6-17 made shots, including 2-8 three point attempts,1 -2 free throws en route to 15 points and 6 rebounds, while Blue netted 14 points on 5-10 shooting from the floor and 3-4 from the line. Cook reached 12 points, making 4-10 shots and both free throws attempted.

Mary Washington shot 24-62 from the floor (38.7%), making 7-28 three pointers and 14-19 free throws. Catholic shot 24-57 (42.1%), with 11-30 three point shots and 20-23 free throws.

Mary Washington will host Hood College on Wednesday, January 11 at 8:00 p.m.