FREDERICKSBURG, Va.--The fifth-seeded Hood College men's basketball team (13-13) fell to the fourth-seeded and host University of Mary Washington Eagles (16-9) Tuesday, 88-82, in the opening round of the Capital Athletic Conference tournament.

After a seesaw battle dominated most of the first half, the Blazers used an 11-3 run over the final 4:20 to close the period and took a 34-31 edge into the locker room.

Tyler Snoots connected on 4-of-6 from the field for 10 first-half points to pace the Blazer attack.

The Blazers led by as many as six on another Snoots jumper 1:20 into the stanza. UMW scored on its next three straight possessions, capped by a fast-break layup by Bradley Reister, to regain a 40-39 lead. 

The next 4:26 featured three ties and four lead changes before the Eagles took a lead they would not surrender on a pair of Mike Harvey free throws with 13:10 left. Hood endured a stretch of 4:18 without a field goal and in the meantime, the Eagles stretched their lead to seven on a Ryan Henderson layup at the 11:28 mark.

UMW's lead ballooned to 13 following a Ryan Farrar triple but Hood chipped away and trimmed the deficit to four with 1:30 to play in regulation on a Brenden Straughn layup. But the Blazers would get no closer as Hood connected on just 2-of-7 from the floor the rest of the way.

Snoots ended his Blazer career with a game-high 23 points, one away from matching his career-high, and hauled in eight rebounds. Snoots finishes his career with 910 points, good for fifth place all-time. Straughn registered 21 points and four assists while Cameron Cook contributed 18 points, including three triples, to move into second place on Hood's single-season three-pointers list (69).

Five Eagles reached double figures, led by Reister's 18. Mary Washington advances to the semifinal round of the CAC playoffs and will travel to top-seeded and nationally ranked St. Mary's College (Md.) Thursday for a 7 p.m. matchup.