FREDRICKSBURG, Va. – Gabe Proctor (Apex, N.C) dumped in a career-high 28 points as the Guilford College men's basketball team (0-1, 0-0 ODAC) clawed their way back, but ultimately not enough as the preseason No. 15 nationally ranked University of Mary Washington (1-0, 0-0 C2C) defended Ron Rosner Arena, 82-78 in the 2025-26 season opener on Friday night.
Both teams looked to be in early-season form with moderate field goal percentages, with the Eagles holding the edge .417 to .409, low rates from range and the line with GC hitting at a .280 mark from distance and .607 from the charity stripe against UMW's .238 and .675 marks, and fouls. Lots of fouls, 54 combined between the two teams with four Quakers and two Eagles hitting the showers early after fouling out.
Proctor's new highwater mark for scoring did stem in part from never-before-seen volume by the senior who set new highs of 20 shots, nine free throw makes, and 13 attempts from the line, sprinkling in two blocks and a steal.
Rival Axselle (Machanicsville, Va.) more than doubled his previous best in scoring and rebounds with 11 points and a team-high eight caroms.
Magnus Swinger (Concord, N.C.) contributed a career-best seven points on 3-of-5 shooting and
Reynolds Escher (Atlanta, Ga.) made a strong first impression with eight points and six boards.
Dawson Edwards (Durham, N.C.) and
Kody Clayton (Cary, N.C.) were tied atop the Quaker stat sheet with three assists apiece.
Kye Robinson was a monster on this night for Mary Washington, pacing all players in points, with 30, and rebounds, with 10, shooting 8-of-22 from the field and 13-for-17 from the line. Ulysses Young added 15 points and a game-high four assists while Kaden Bates made 6-of-8 from the field to net 13 points and round out double-digit scorers.
The Eagles won the tip and started the scoring, but Guilford swiftly seized the early run as Axselle netted a second-chance layup to spark a 12-1 run highlighted by a quartet of points each from
Tripp McMillen (Dobson, N.C.) and Proctor. GC gradually worked their lead out to a dozen, when
Braylon Salters (Cleveland, Ohio), who was restricted to just 12 minutes due to fouls, hit a three and Swinger hit a two to make the tallies 22-10 approaching 11 to play in the first half.
Mary Washington just whittled it down gradually over the next five minutes with a pair of Jay Randall free throws granting them their first lead since the opening seconds. Then the next four minutes of action saw six ties and seven lead changes but the Eagles completed the half with an outburst
Landon Francis (Duke Center, Pa.) hit a three to put GC up 37-35 but the hosts scored the final nine points from there on a Randall layup, Young three, a Hasan Hammad layup, and a Bates two, making it 44-37 at the break.
A 7-2 outburst by the Quakers out of the half immediately cut the lead to two but UMW gave themselves breathing room again and generally kept GC at an arms-length, losing the lead for just a handful of seconds, but also never seeing their lead get beyond ten points, and that is where it stood with just under eight minutes to play. Four-straight Proctor freebees then an Escher layup immediately trimmed it to two-possessions and before Hammad hit a three and Edwards countered with three the old-fashion way right after. The contest traded between a two and three-possession edge for a stretch until the game got under two minutes when Axselle hit a second-chance bucket then Proctor nailed a jumper, levelling things at 75. Unfortunately, Robinson hit a couple free throws then he and Young combined for five more at the stripe over the final 60 seconds to close the win and hand Guilford their first season-opening loss since 2021.
The Quakers hit the hardwood again on Wednesday, November 12
th when they head over to Rocky Mount to play North Carolina Wesleyan University tipping off at 7:00 PM.
#GoQuakes
