FARMVILLE, Va. – The Shenandoah University men's basketball team saw its season opening three-game winning streak snapped Saturday with a 77-69 loss to Mary Washington at the South Region Challenge.
The Eagles (3-1) led throughout the contest and jumped out to a 16-point first half lead over the Hornets (3-1) thanks in large part to five 3-pointers in that opening stanza.
Shenandoah, fueled by 16 first-half points from senior Avery Green, was able to cut the deficit to eight, 37-29, by the halftime buzzer.
The second half deficit floated between seven and 11 points before a 17-6 UMW run from the 17:56 to 11:40 marks gave the victors a 58-40 advantage.
Green, who led all scorers with a career-high 37 points, tried to keep SU in it with six straight points, but Bradley Riester answered with a three-point play on the next trip down the floor for the Eagles and Shenandoah never seriously challenged again.
Freshman Aaron Patterson gave the Hornets one last gasp by draining a 3-pointer with 7:35 remaining to cut it to eight before Mary Washington scored nine of the game's next 11 points to remain in control.
In addition to Green's 37, Patterson had 11 and Jared Carithers 10 for coach Rob Pryor.
Dylan Farinet had 22 with Taylor Johnson and Riester adding 19 and 17, respectively for the Eagles.
Mary Washington had a 34-26 advantage on the glass.
The loss snaps the longest winning streak for SU since the 2008-09 season.
The 37 points for Green is the eighth best performance in program history and is the most points scored by a Hornets player since Chris Rhone '04 had 37 in a victory over Eastern Mennonite on November 25, 2003.
Shenandoah continues this road trip with an 8:00 game at Frostburg State Tuesday night.
###