HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, Va. - Mary Washington erased an early double-digit deficit Saturday night to earn a 68-61 victory over Shenandoah at the 2009 South Region Challenge hosted by Hampden-Sydney.

Shenandoah (1-4) was seeking its second straight win of the 2009-10 season and its fifth win in the past six meetings against Mary Washington (3-2), but the Eagles had other ideas.

Trailing 16-6 after Justin Long converted a layup at the 13:20 mark of the first, UMW preceded to reel off 10 straight points in just 78 seconds to tie the game at 16-16 with 11:32 remaining.

The two teams then traded the lead three times and were tied on two other occasions before Mary Washington finally took the lead for good on a Bart Reese three-pointer with just inside a minute to play.

SU would cut the deficit to one point three different times, but was never able to regain the advantage.

The Eagles eventually pushed their lead out to 10 points with 6:46 to play, but was not able to clinch the victory until converting four straight free throws in the final 39 seconds.

Junior Brandon Bryan led the Hornets with 15 points while Chris Schrader and Kevin Kline had 13 each. Junior transfer Mitch Dudley just missed his second double-double in five games with eight points and 10 rebounds.

Shenandoah concludes Challenge play Sunday afternoon with a 4:00 contest against host Hampden-Sydney.

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