Seniors Greg Rowson, Da'Shawn Cook, and Emmanuel Aghayere all put up 10 or more points as the University of Mary Washington men's basketball team earned a crucial conference 65-43 win against UC Santa Cruz on Saturday afternoon during a UMW alumni game at Ron Rosner Arena. The Eagles improve to 16-6 on the season, before their last home game of the season on Feb. 18th.
The first basket of the game for the Eagles off the hands of Greg Rowson at 19:03, which he followed with 2 free-throws after a steal by Zach Blue. Rowson would go on to make 6 more shots in the first half, two inside the paint and three from beyond the arc. Rowsons' first half total was 20, with Erik Prosise and Dorian Davis each hitting a 3-pointer of their own at 15:50 and 5:55. Da'Shawn Cook hit a crucial bucket with 2:00 left in the first half, cutting all the way inside and scoring a layup to bring the Eagle advantage to 27-19. The score at the end of the 1st gave the Eagles a 9-point lead against the Banana Slugs at 30-21.
UMW started the second half off strong, with Emmanuel Aghayere, Da'Shawn Cook, and Zach Blue making shots and holding UC Santa Cruz with good defense, not allowing them to score until 15:38in the 2nd. With that basket, the Mary Washington lead came to 42-31 at 10:46. The Eagles would hold the Banana Slugs scoreless for nearly 6 minutes, allowing Andrew Rowson, Greg Rowson, and Da'Shawn Cook to add to their stats. A mid-range jumper from Andrew Rowson at 9:53, a 3-pointer from Greg Rowson at 9:12, and 8-straight Da'Shawn Cook points gave UMW a 54-33 lead at 5:40, pushing the Eagle lead to 21 points. UC Santa Cruz would not get close throughout the rest of the contest, with contested defense by the Eagles while Cameron McCravy and Emmanuel Aghayere earning hard-fought buckets at 4:30 and 3:07, respectively. Da'Shawn Cook would then hit a 3 at 2:22 and follow it going 2-3 from the line at 1:58. The final basket of the game for the Eagles would come off the hands of freshman guard Peter Goldberg with 25.7 seconds to go, to which the Eagle bench and large home crowd roared in applause.
UMW shot 51% from the field (26-51), making 9-25 three-point tries and 4-8 free throws, while UC Santa Cruz shot 33.3% (18-54), making 7-24 three-pointers, leaving the free-throw category blank. The Eagles led in rebounds and assists, 38-25 and 19-9, while tying the Banana Slugs in turnovers forced at 12 apiece.
The Eagles will return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Salisbury University for the game at 7:00 p.m.