The hosts jumped out to an early 5-0 advantage when junior guard Brendan Stern hit a three-pointer and classmate forward Frank Jackson scored from inside the paint. Mary Washington retaliated when sophomore sharpshooter Mike Lee – who poured in a game-high 17 points – drained one of his five trifectas, giving the visitors a 33-31 lead heading into halftime.
The gap widened to 40-35 when Lee connected from beyond the arc before Gallaudet stormed back. Bison junior guard Robert Haney Jr. stroked a jumper, knotting the score at 50-50 with 8:33 remaining. They extended the lead to eight points when junior center Bradley Miller took a feed from classmate Matthew Johnson and powered in for the layup. Shortly thereafter, sophomore guard A.J. Fitzgerald took control for the Eagles, first knocking down a three from the left corner before connecting from long distance once again from the top of the key, deadlocking the count at 58-58 with 41seconds left on the clock.
Gallaudet turned the ball over on the ensuing possession, setting the visitors up with the game’s final shot. Rookie forward Jon Pierce hit a nifty running jump hook from the low post, giving Mary Washington a 60-58 edge. Pierce then committed a foul sending the Bison to the free throw line with a chance to tie the game. However, Gallaudet couldn’t connect on the front end of a one-for-one with two seconds remaining. Eagle sophomore forward Josh Wilson tickled the twine from the charity stripe, rounding the score out at 61-58.
Miller paced the Bison with 14 points and seven boards, while Haney and rookie guard Sekoe White chipped in with 13 and 11 points, respectively. Pierce finished with 16 points and five rebounds for Mary Washington, while Fitzgerald added 12 points. With the loss, Gallaudet falls to 6-13 overall and 1-8 in league play, while the Eagles improve to 15-6 and 7-3.
The Bison return to action against visiting non-conference opponent Villa Julie on Monday at 8 p.m.