UMW Men's Basketball Defeats Apprentice School, 82-74

Friday night saw the first ever NCAA basketball game played in the Anderson Center. With Saturday, came the first UMW victory. The Eagles recovered from a rocky first half to defeat the Newport News Apprentice School 84-72 and improve their record to 1-1.

The Eagles opened the game on a 9-0 run, but the Builders (5-1) recovered, tying the game with less than a minute left in the half and heading into the break trailing UMW 38-36.

The Apprentice School actually held a 44-43 lead early in the second half, but the Eagles responded with a 13-0 run of their own.

UMW head coach Rod Wood credited the leadership and composure of senior guard Ryan Farrar with righting the Eagles' ship.

"He knocked down some key shots at key times," said Wood of Farrar, who finished with 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting. "He didn't seem to get sped up as much as the other guys."

A myriad of fouls called in the final two minutes cut the Eagles' lead back down to single digits. When the Builders were forced to foul, UMW delivered at the charity stripe where they shot 73% (11-15) in the second half.

Evident just two games into this fledgling season is UMW's emphasis on a quick transition offense, a numbered fast-break attack that the players are still growing into, explained coach Wood.

"We'll be much better in January than we are right now," said Wood. "We're just not in the right spots right now."

Sophomore guard Matt Boward led all scorers with 19 points while freshman Sean Armstrong and senior Henry Brisbe had nine boards apiece.

UMW (1-1, 0-0 CAC) will be back in action Monday, when the Eagles travel to CNU for a rematch of Friday's 84-82 overtime loss.