Four players reached double figures, and the trademark defense held Salisbury University to 50 points, as the University of Mary Washington men's basketball team advanced to the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference championship game, 60-50, with a semifinal win over the Sea Gulls on their home court on Friday afternoon.

In a contest that remained tight until the waning minutes, both teams excelled defensively in the first half. The Eagles built an early 10-6 lead, with a three pointer from sophomore Jadon Burgess with 12:52 left. The lead swung between two and four points until a jumper from senior Zack Blue with 2:31 left gave UMW a 23-17 advantage.

A 7-1 Salisbury run knotted the score at 24-24, and the teams traded baskets to send the game to halftime knotted at 26.

UMW again grabbed a slight margin to open the second, as Blue and Jay Randall each converted layups in the opening minute. Salisbury tied the score at 35-35 with 12:36 remaining, but baskets from Burgess and Randall returned the Eagle lead to four, 41-37, with 10:17 left.

With the score tied at 42, both teams fell cold from the floor, as the game went the next four minutes without a point. A pair of Kye Robinson free throws put the Eagles back ahead, and layups from Randall and Burgess upped the advantage to 48-42 with 3:46 on the clock.

Burgess connected on a pair of free throws, and a Robinson layup gave UMW its largest lead with 1:47 left, 54-45. Three free throws from Randall and another two from Robinson gave the Eagles a 60-50 lead, which would stand as the final score.

Robinson led the Eagles with 20 points, while Randall scored 14, Blue 12, and Burgess 11. Robinson also led with eight rebounds, while Blue had seven rebounds and six assists.

The Eagles will face Christopher Newport University for the 2025 C2C Championship on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. in Salisbury.