WINCHESTER, Va. – Visiting University of Mary Washington had a strong second half shooting performance on its way to an 80-74 non-league men's basketball victory Monday afternoon. 

After shooting 40 percent (12-of-30) in the first half, the Eagles (7-2) shot 54 percent (14-of-26) in the second to earn the victory over Shenandoah (3-6).

SU scored the first six points of the game and 16 of the initial 20 to lead, 20-4, by the time was eight minutes old.

UMW got itself back into the game with an 18-9 run to complete the first half; Alan Dabney's buzzer-beating layup gave the Hornets a 40-37 lead at the break.

IN BRIEF

After holding the lead for the initial 22:17 of the contest, Shenandoah found itself in a battle as Mary Washington used a 10-5 run early in the second half to knot the contest at 47-47 with 16:47 to play.

The two teams traded the lead five times over the next 13 minutes before UMW finally took the lead for good on a Da'Shawn Cook layup with three minutes to play.

The Eagles were 3-for-6 from the line in the final two minutes of the contest to help secure the victory. Shenandoah missed three of its final four shots from the field and committed a pair of turnovers in that same time frame.

QUOTABLE

"We have to be better at finishing," Hornets head coach Adam Walsh said. "That is something we are still learning – we just haven't been in that situation at this level.

"We had a couple of turnovers late that hurt us, but we had unforced turnovers in the first half as well. They came out more aggressive in the second half, but we have to be able to keep our heads and play through those situations."

UP NEXT

Shenandoah hosts a Christmas Tournament December 28 and 29 with the Hornets taking on Coast Guard on Friday, December 28 at 7 p.m.

GAME NOTES

• Shenandoah leads the all-time series 25-18 between the two teams
• Mary Washington has won three of the last four
• UMW shot 54 percent (14-of-26) in the second half and 46 percent for the game
• Shenandoah shot 42 percent (30-of-72) in the game
• Mary Washington had a slight, 40-39, advantage on the boards
• SU had 40 points in the paint and outscored the Eagles 20-12 on second chance points
• Christopher Chaney led the hosts with 20 points
• Jason Tate had 12 points in his first career start and Mark Melbourne 11 points off the bench
• Riley Welch had 17 points for the Eagles

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