Senior forward Greg Rowson scored a game-high 27 points, including the 1,000th of his career early in the first half, in leading the 20th ranked University of Mary Washington men's basketball team to a 103-95 victory at Washington & Lee University on Friday evening in Lexington, Va. The Eagles improve to 11-2 on the season.
The Eagles fell behind early and big in the first half, as the Generals jumped out to a 16-2 early lead, and led by as many as 20 points, at 38-18, with 4:18 remaining. The Eagles ended the half with a 14-4 run, however, and pulled to within 10 points by intermission, at 42-32.
After quickly allowing the first five points of the second, the Eagles' ascent back into the game continued, as they went on a 10-4 run, capped by a layup from junior Zack Blue, to pull to within seven, at 51-44. The run continued, with a three pointer from senior Da'Shawn Cook cutting the margin to one, and a Rowson basket knotted the score at 54-54 with 9:36 remaining.
UMW then saw the host Generals score six straight to take a 60-54 lead with 7:56 remaining, but a pair of baskets from freshman Dorian Davis and a three pointer from Rowson gave UMW its first lead of the night, 61-60, 5:14 left. The incredible matchup then saw the lead change hands seven times with five ties in the final minutes, capped by a tying dunk from Rowson with 12 seconds left.
In the first overtime, W&L scored first, but the back-and-forth scoring continued, with the lead changing hands five times. The Generals hit a three-pointer with 46 seconds left, and the Eagles drew to within one on a Blue bucket with 17 seconds left. After W&L hit a pair of free throws with 14 seconds left, Davis hit one of the biggest shots of the night with a three pointer with eight seconds left, to send the game to overtime number two.
The Eagles took the lead at the free throw line in the second extra frame, making eight of eight in taking a six-point lead through the first four minutes. A Cook layup with 41 seconds left raised the Eagle lead to 98-92, and a dunk from junior Daniel Peterson held the lead at 101-95 with 21 seconds left. Rowson would cap the scoring with a pair of free throws, as he became the 22nd player in program history to surpass the 1,000-point mark.
Rowson made 9-21 shots, including 3-7 three point attempts, and 6-10 free throws en route to 27 points, while Cook netted 22 points on 7-20 shooting from the floor and 6-6 from the line. Blue reached 20 points for the second straight day as well, making 6-12 shots and 7-10 free throws.
Mary Washington shot 35-75 from the floor (46.7%), making 9-29 three pointers and 24-34 free throws. Washington and Lee shot 33-71 (46.5%), with 14-37 three point shots and 15-22 free throws. The Eagles controlled the boards, 49-37.
Mary Washington will host Catholic University on Tuesday, January 3 at 5:00 p.m.