The University of Mary Washington men's basketball team nearly overcame a seven-point deficit in the final 1:06, trimming the score to 59-57, but a last-second three missed, and the Eagles fell by two to 25th ranked Christopher Newport University on Wednesday night before a packed student section at Ron Rosner Arena. The Eagles slip to 9-6 on the season.

Trailing 59-52 with 1:06 left, the Eagles gained a basket from junior Trey Pittman and a three-pointer from senior Daniel Peterson with 46 seconds left to draw to within two. Senior Zack Blue then stole the ball, but the Eagles couldn't find the tying points. The Captains then missed a pair of free throws, gained an offensive rebound, and missed two more, but UMW had just 4.7 seconds to go the length of the floor, and the attempt to win from near half court fell errant.

The Captains jumped ahead in the early going, 10-5, but Peterson scored five straight to knot the score, and the teams would trade baskets the rest of the way in the first half, with UMW carrying a 33-31 lead to intermission.

In the second half, the Eagles stayed to within one possession for much of play, and used points from Pittman and Peterson to pull to within 50-49 with 5:41 left. CNU outscored UMW, 9-3, over the next three minutes, but the Eagles continued to make shots, setting up the late run.

Peterson led the Eagles with 18 points on 7-13 shooting, making 4-9 three point attempts, and grabbed nine rebounds. Senior Cameron McCravy scored 14 pointso 4-9 shooting with three 3-pointers, and Pittman added a double double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

The Eagles shot 17-47 from the field (36.2%), connecting on 7-21 three point tries and 16-24 free throws. Christopher Newport shot 18-46 (39.1%), making 4-14 threes and 19-33 free throws. CNU led in rebounds, 39-34.

UMW will be back in action on Monday, when the Eagles host Johns Hopkins University at 7:00 p.m.