Fredericksburg, Va. – The Marymount men's basketball team suffered its first CAC loss on Saturday afternoon, dropping a down-to-the-wire battle against neighboring Mary Washington, 66-64.  The defeat drops the Saints to 9-2 overall and 3-1 in league play.

Marymount won the opening possession and used an Antonio Rouse triple to get on the board first.  Eric Shaw countered for the Eagles with back-to-back jumpers and a layup, giving the host a narrow lead, 6-3, at the 15:41 mark. 

The Saints eventually worked back to swipe the lead, 7-6, before the teams' shot-for-shot volley saw the score knotted at 9-9 with 12:10 remaining. 

Unfortunately for Marymount, the Eagles erupted for a hearty 13-0 run – spanning the next three and a half minutes – to author a 22-9 advantage with 8:46 left to play.

Following a quick timeout, the Saints seemed to reset and settle in for a comeback.  The squad relentlessly chipped away, with Dmitri Rucker eventually cutting the deficit to four, 28-24, with 3:37 showing – a bit too close for comfort for the host.

Mary Washington closed the half with a 9-4 run, building a 28-37 lead to carry into the break.

Using a 9-3 run to open the second half, the Saints battled back to within one, 40-39.  From the 13:39 mark onward, the deficit would never be more than five.

Marymount hung close for a good seven-minute span, until D'Ondre Stockman hit a triple to knot the score at 53-53 with only 6:17 remaining.  The squads would tie the score three more times by the 2:16 mark, with Michael Anderson converting in the paint to put the Saints up 61-59.

A three from John Lutkenhaus put the Eagles on top by one, 62-61, and three ensuing Mary Washington free throws gave the host a 65-61 advantage with just 53 ticks left to play.  Jesse Konadu drained a triple to bring Marymount within one, but unfortunately the Saints would not have another chance from the field.

Anderson led Marymount with 15 points on the day, with JC Hoellich adding 14 to round out the attack.  The difference came in three-point land, where the Eagles shot 38.1% (8-21) compared to the Saints' 19% (4-21) performance from beyond the arc.

Marymount returns to action on Wednesday when it travels to York (Pa.) for a midweek league battle.  Tip time is slated for 8 p.m.