Senior guard Da'Shawn Cook scored 19 points and junior guard Zack Blue added 18 to lead the University of Mary Washington men's basketball team to an 87-62 victory over Pfeiffer University on Thursday night at Ron Rosner Arena. The Eagles improve to 14-5 on the season.
The Eagles came out red hot, shooting 63% from the field in the first half (17-27). UMW made three of its first four three-point attempts, and led, 11-8, on Blue's first triple of the night at 15:50. Four points each from Andrew and Greg Rowson extended the Eagle lead to 19-10 with 13:28 to go in the first, with a Greg Rowson three-pointer capping an 11-0 run.
After the Falcons drew to within five, a run capped by five straight from Blue gave UMW a 33-21 advantage. From there, the Eagles closed the half on an 18-8 run, with six players scoring, and Cook leading the spurt with seven points, including a three-point basket at the buzzer. UMW led, 51-29, at intermission.
Pfeiffer started the second half on a 7-2 run, but the Eagles weathered the rally, extending the lead back to 20 with a Patrick Smedley basket at 15:56. Both teams then went cold from the field for several minutes. Layups from Dorian Davis and Emmanuel Aghayere ended the Eagle drought and brought the lead to 74-46 with 6:06 to play. The Eagles saw five different players score down the stretch, including Gabe Davis, who connected on consecutive three-pointers.
Cook went 5-12 from the floor with three 3-pointers and went 6-6 from the line. He and Blue tied for the team lead with six rebounds. Blue shot 7-12 with two threes and two free throws, and he also contributed five assists and three steals. Greg Rowson scored 12 points as the third Eagle in double figures.
UMW shot 46.8% from the field (29-62), making 10-26 three-point tries and 19-28 free throws, while Pfeiffer shot 44% (22-50), making 9-23 three-pointers and 9-17 free throws. The Eagles led in rebounds, 41-30, and forced 16 turnovers while committing just eight.
The Eagles will return to action on Saturday when they host Widener University at 3:00 p.m.