Men's Basketball Ends Season in Elite Eight with Loss to #5 Mary Washington

FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- The University of Chicago men's basketball team saw its season come to an end on Thursday night with an 81-73 loss to #5 Mary Washington.

A pair of

Daniel Cochran triples lifted the Maroons to an early 9-5 lead, but #5 Mary Washington answered with a 23-4 run to take a 15-point lead in the first half. The Eagles continued to stretch their lead to 20 with 6:15 remaining in the half, and Mary Washington entered the half with a 49-35 advantage.

After the Eagles scored the opening bucket of the half, UChicago scored 11 straight points, capped off by a dunk by

Nick Roper to cut the lead to five at 51-46. However, Mary Washington went on a run of their own to score the next nine points, ballooning the lead back to 14.

UChicago cut the lead to six once again with 8:44 remaining thanks to a triple by Cochran and a bucket inside by Roper, but once again, the Eagles had the response with a contested triple to extend the lead to two possessions.

Mary Washington kept the Maroons at arms length for the majority of the half until Cochran and

Eamonn Kenah drilled triples on back-to-back possessions to cut the lead to four at 75-71. The comeback was too little, too late for the Maroons as Mary Washington hit their free throws down the stretch as the Eagles held on for the 81-73 victory.

Shane Regan led the way with 23 points on 7-13 shooting, and

** **Daniel Cochran tallied 17 points and a team-high 8 rebounds and 6 assists.

Joe Berry added 12 points, and

** **Nick Roper scored 10 in the loss.

With the loss, the Maroons cap off their season with a 24-5 record and the second National Quarterfinal appearance in program history.