FREDERICKSBURG, VA – The Mary Washington Eagles rode a 52-point first half en route to an 80-60 Capital Athletic Conference win over the York College Spartans in men's basketball action on Saturday in Fredericksburg, VA.
The Eagles improve to 10-1 overall and 4-0 in the CAC. The Spartans drop their tenth straight, as they are now 1-10 overall and 0-4 in the league.
The Eagles jumped on the Spartans early as they led 14-4 less than five minutes into the game. They continued to pour it on as they hit York with a 27-6 run, pushing out to a 41-10 lead with 7:12 left in the first half. The Eagles extended the lead to as many as 33 before settling for the 52-23 halftime lead.
Mary Washington continued to build on their lead in the second half as their advantage climbed to 40 with 12:58 left in the half. The Spartans continued to fight and fashioned a 17-0 run over the next seven minutes, trimming their deficit to 23. The Green and White got to within 18 over the final minute but simply could not climb out of the huge first half hole UMW dug for them.
Mary Washington was led by the conference's leading scorer Bradley Riester as he poured in a game-high 28 points while he also had nine rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Riester was 9-for-16 from the floor including 7-for-11 from three. He also converted all three of his free throw attempts. Dylan Farinet added 14 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals for the Eagles.
Freshman Ryan Beaver (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) led the Spartans with 14 points including a career-high four three-point field goals. Senior guard B.J. Enck (Quarryville, Pa./Solanco), senior forward Matt McNeely (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright), and freshman forward Dalton Myers (Finksburg, Md./Westminster) each contributed nine points for the Spartans.
The Eagles handled the Spartans on the boards as they outrebounded York 50-24 including 20-7 on the offensive end. That minus-26 is the Spartans' worst rebounding disparity of the year.
After a torrid first half in which the Eagles shot 52.9% from the floor, UMW finished the game shooting 43.1% from the field. Mary Washington converted 16-of-33 from three (48.5%) while they went 8-for-10 from the free throw line.
York finished the game shooting 40.4% from the field while they made 7-of-23 (30.4%) from three. The Green and White converted 11-of-19 from the stripe.
York returns to action on Wednesday when they conclude their current four game road trip with a game at Marymount University. Tip time in Arlington is set for 8:00 pm.