Men’s basketball defeats Falcons at home 87-62
3 min read
Devin Johnson coming off the bench had a stat line of four points, two steals, two rebounds and one assist for Mary Washington. | Ian Chapman, The Weekly Ringer
KATY ROSE PRICE
Staff Writer
The UMW men’s basketball team defeated the Pfeiffer University Falcons with a score of 87–62 at home on Thursday, Jan. 26. The win contributed to the Eagles’ 14–5 record so far this season.
“I thought we played pretty well from start to finish,” said Head Coach Marcus Kahn. “Attention to detail throughout the game was pretty consistent, which is something we’ve really been working on.”
This game offered the team another chance to showcase their skills, particularly following a narrow loss of 69–64 to the Yeshiva University Maccabees on Jan. 22 in New York City.
The Eagles came out strong in the first half, leading 19–10 within the first eight minutes. Their first half scoring was some of the best it’s been all season, shooting 63% from the field with 17 of their 27 shots finding the net.
One spectator noted the intensity of the game. “The other team started the game playing really strong defense, so I knew we were in for a good game,” said senior elementary education major Kayla Bradner. “The boys were definitely up for the challenge.”
The Eagles impressed the crowd with several 3-pointers made by senior forward Greg Rowson, junior guard Zack Blue and senior guard Da’Shawn Cook. However, Pfeiffer had a short run, bringing their score within 12 points of UMW’s. This only seemed to energize the Eagles as they dropped 18 more points before halftime, Cook responsible for seven of these as well as a 3-pointer right at the buzzer. As the first half concluded, the Eagles came out on top with a score of 51–29.
UMW was supported by the home crowd, as well as the cheerleading team, whose cheers, stunts and tumbling passes across the gym floor ignited applause and cheers from the audience.
The second quarter started with the Falcons racking up some points on a 7–2 streak, but the Eagles didn’t let that dissuade them. Working as a team, UMW quickly put 20 points between them and the Falcons.
The energy remained high as the Eagles continued to dominate. Blue stole the ball, then passed it to freshman Dorian Davis as they sprinted down the court, resulting in a layup by Davis.
The game ended in an 87–62 victory for the Eagles, following two consecutive 3-pointers by sophomore Gabe Wilson. Several players on the roster had notable performances, especially Cook who scored 19 points, with Blue closely following at 18 points. Both recorded six rebounds each, and Blue had five assists. Rowson also had a strong game, scoring 12 points, as well as senior guard Cameron McCravy, who had 9 points.
“We knew we needed to share the ball a lot better than what we have recently, passing it, and spreading them out,” said Kahn. “Offensively and defensively, we needed to help each other, which I thought we did a good job of tonight.”
UMW’s supporters also enjoyed watching how the game played out.
“As someone that doesn’t watch a lot of basketball, the game was very exciting and fun to watch,” said Bradner.
With 16 assists, 41 rebounds and multiple steals throughout the game, the team worked hard as a cohesive unit.
“We played well as a team,” said Blue, a junior business major. “We’ve been playing not together as much the last couple of games so it’s nice to get back to that.”
Looking ahead, the Eagles will play U.C. Santa Cruz at home on Sunday, Feb. 5 at 12 p.m., one of the four games left before the regular season concludes.
