Mustangs Build First Half Lead, Fall to Eagles, 85-79
FREDERICKSBURG, Va. - The Stevenson men's basketball team led by as many as seven in the first half and held just its second halftime lead all season, but a 9-3 run to start the second and an 8-1 spurt in the final four minutes gave Mary Washington an 85-79 victory Wednesday night at Goolrick Gymnasium.
Junior forward Patrick Lewis (Timonium/Dulaney) scored a career-high 22 points off the bench to lead the Mustangs (2-19, 2-10 CAC), 15 of which came in the second half, but the team could not overcome a hot Eagle squad who snapped a five-game losing streak by shooting 57.1 percent from the floor.
Mary Washington (7-11, 4-6 CAC) also went 25-of-35 from the free throw line and needed a stellar performance to overcome Stevenson's 9-of-20 performance from three-point range and 53 bench points.
The Mustangs led 19-12 with 10:45 remaining in the first half after an 8-0 run gave them their first lead of the game.
The Eagles answered with eight-straight points of their own to regain the lead before Stevenson retook the advantage on a three-pointer by freshman guard Zach Cooke (Morgantown, W. Va./Cushing Academy) and pushed it back to seven with 4:19 to play.
The first half featured four ties and five lead changes before Stevenson took a two-point lead into the break, 36-34.
Mary Washington scored nine of the first 12 points of the second half to take a four-point advantage and would never trail again despite pressure from the Mustangs who trailed by just one following a three-pointer by freshman guard Jason Scroggins (Baltimore/Boys' Latin) with 10:56 remaining.
That would be as close as the Mustangs would get as Rocky Ullah hit two three-pointers to push the Eagle lead to seven before they extended to as many as 10 with 1:16 left after a 8-1 run.
Junior guard Broderick Hill (Bowie/Bishop McNamara) finished with 14 points, two shy of his career-high, while freshman forward Danny Murphy (Severn/Glen Burnie) added 12 off the bench. Murphy also finished with a team-high five rebounds.
Brandon Altmann led four players in double figures for Mary Washington with a game-high 24 points. Qaiser Ahmed had 19 and Eric Rolander and Ullah added 17 and 14, respectively. Rolander also had a game-high seven boards.
Stevenson is scheduled to continue its three-game road trip at Marymount (Va.) on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. However, potential weather conditions may change that so please check gomustangsports.com throughout the week for more information.
