Senior guard Anias Saunders scored a team-high 18 points on 4-5 shooting from three-point range, as the University of Mary Washington men's basketball team downed Methodist University, 70-63, on Wednesday night in Fayetteville, N.C. The Eagles run their win streak to six straight and improve to 7-2 on the season.

The Eagles methodically build a lead through the first half, with a Saunders three pointer upping the lead to 17-10 with 11:50 left. After a Monarch basket, UMW used a three pointer from senior guard Ra'Shawn Cook and a basket from Saunders to push the margin to 22-12 with 9:34 to go. A Da'Shawn Cook basket with 3:26 remaining pushed the margin to 32-18, and another three from him gave the Eagles a 39-26 lead at halftime.

The Monarchs drew to within eight early in the second half, but the Eagles quickly rebuilt the lead, with Daniel Peterson pushing the advantage to 15, at 60-45, with 5:26 remaining. A dunk from junior Colin Coyne with 2:10 left gave the Eagles a 68-50 lead. Methodist scored 13 straight points to draw to within five, but senior guard Riley Welch connected on a pair of free throws to cap the scoring.

Saunders made 7-11 shots, including 4-5 three point attempts, en route to 18 points, while Da'Shawn Cook scored 13 and added six rebounds and five assists. Welch, Coyne, and Ra'Shawn Cook each scored eight points in the balanced attack.

The Eagles shot 43.3% from the floor (26-60), making 11-26 three-point tries and 7-15 free throws. Methodist shot 40.7% (24-59), making 5-16 three point attempts and 10-11 free throws.UMW led in rebounding, 43-32.

Mary Washington will be back in action on Saturday when they host Marymount University at 3:00 p.m.