Washington Never Trails in Victory

CHESTERTOWN, Md. -- Junior guard John Weston (Tampa, Fla./Bolles School) scored a career-high 22 points and senior forward Tony Hawkins (Mt. Ephraim, N.J./Haddon Township) scored 19 points and brought down a career-best 13 rebounds as host Washington College defeated visiting Ursinus College, 87-70, in a Centennial Conference men's basketball game tonight inside Cain Athletic Center. The Shoremen, who never trailed in the contest, improved to 4-10 overall and 3-4 in conference play with the win, while the Bears fell to 2-12 and 0-7 with the loss. 

The Shoremen raced out to a 15-4 lead just 3:36 into the game and held a 10-point lead at 39-29 following a lay-up by sophomore forward Dave Knox (Warrington, Pa./Central Bucks South) with 1:49 left in the first half. A quick seven points by the Bears cut the lead to 39-36 on a lay-up and free throw by Trevor Norton with a minute to go before the intermission, but a three-pointer by Washington junior guard John Weston (Tampa, Fla./Bolles School) with 42 seconds remaining in the period gave Washington a six-point cushion at halftime. Washington drained eight three on 17 attempts during the first 20 minutes of the game. 

Ursinus closed the gap to 44-41 early in the second half, but back-to-back three-pointers by sophomore forward Pat Morgan (Havertown, Pa./Haverford) and Weston gave the Shoremen a 49-40 edge with 16:41 remaining. Washington led by at least seven points the rest of the way and took its largest lead of the contest when Hawkins hit two free throws with 16 seconds to go to provide the final margin.

Weston shot 8-for-18 from the field, including 3-for-5 from three-point range en route to his 22 points. Hawkins was 9-for-10 from the free-throw line in the win and blocked a pair of shots to go along with his 19 points and 13 boards. Morgan added 16 points, draining four three-pointers in the process, while junior forward Sean Flanigan (Wilmington, Del./St. Mark's) came off the bench to supply the Shoremen with a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds. Junior guard Sean Brooks (North Wales, Pa./North Penn) dished out a career-high six assists for the victors.

Mailk Draper led the Bears with 18 points in the loss. Ryan Adams added 12 points and eight rebounds, while Norton scored 12 points and brought down six boards. Jesse Krasna added 11 points and four assists for Ursinus.

The Shoremen shot 26-for-70 from the field, 11-for-29 from three-point range, and 24-for-30 at the free-throw line in the win. Ursinus was 26-for-61, 4-for-15, and 14-for-21, respectively. Washington enjoyed a 50-40 advantage on the glass. The 17-point final margin of victory was the Shoremen's largest over the Bears since a 97-77 win on Ferbaury 14, 1998.

The Shoremen return to action Saturday with a 4:00 p.m. Centennial Conference game at Muhlenberg.