Box Score Seniors Da'Shawn Cook and Greg Rowson put up 16 and 15 points, respectively, as the University of Mary Washington men's basketball team falls in a hard-fought 67-53 loss to rival #4 Christopher Newport University on Wednesday evening at Ron Rosner Arena. The Eagles fall to 15-6 on the season.
The first basket of the game for the Eagles came from Greg Rowson as he hit his first 3-pointer of the night, which was followed by 2 Emmanuel Aghayere layups, with Zack Blue adding one of his one, making the score tied at 9 at 16:24. CNU was led by Brandon Edmond, who made 3-straight from beyond the arc to keep the Captains competitive early. Da'Shawn Cook would have his first 2 points of the game off free throws at 15:10, which was followed by an Andrew Rowson layup and Greg Rowson 3-pointer, bringing the Eagles' lead to 7 after 6 minutes of play. Three made shots would help the Eagles maintain a 13-point lead at 9:29, but Mary Washington would soon find themselves in a scoring drought from 9:29-2:37, allowing Christopher Newport to come back into the game and gain the lead at 4:22. Da'Shawn Cooks' 3-pointer at 2:37 would give the Eagles a 25-23 lead, which UMW would hold going into halftime. Zack Blue would finalize the score at halftime with 2 makes from the line, leaving the Eagles up 27-25.
Greg Rowson and the Eagles would come out of the locker room starting 4-4 from the line to counteract CNUs' baskets, putting the score at 32-31, with CNU holding the lead at 16:48 in the 2nd. An impressive layup through three CNU defenders at 15:27 would keep the game close, but the Captains would go on a run and not let up for the remainder of the contest. CNU held a 17-6 run since halftime at 13:11, which UMW could not regain in part due to turnovers and questionable foul calls. Christopher Newport would go on a 9-5 run over 6 minutes, but a crucial Da'Shawn Cook layup and block on consecutive possessions would help UMW gain steam and show CNU that Mary Washington was not going out without a fight. Da'Shawn Cook would continue to play his heart out and make plays on consecutive drives for the Eagles with a euro step layup and 3-pointer at 3:10 and 2:23, pulling the Eagles to a 60-48 deficit late in the game. For the last 2 minutes of the game, the Eagles went 5-6 on free-throws, off the hands of Dorian Davis and Zack Blue.
Aside from Da'Shawn Cook with 16 points and 8 rebounds and Greg Rowson with 15 points and 11 rebounds, Zack Blue had 8 points, 3 assists, and 3 steals, Emmanuel Aghayere put up 6 points and 5 rebounds, and Dorian Davis ended his night with 5 points and 5 rebounds.
UMW shot 25.8% from the field (16-62), making 4-26 three-point tries and 17-24 free throws, while CNU shot 39.7% (23-58), making 11-28 three-pointers and 10-33 free throws. The Captains led in rebounds, 47-40; UMW held the upper hand by forcing 15 turnovers, while only committing 10. The Eagles dominated in the steals department, 10-3.
The Eagles will return to action on Sunday when they host UC Santa Cruz at 12:00 p.m.
