George Washington went on an extended run midway through the first half and cruised to a 79-67 win over UMass, Wednesday in Washington D.C.

The Minutemen (9-17, 2-11 Atlantic 10) took an early 14-12 lead with some efficient offensive production, but had no answer on the other end for the Colonials. George Washington went on an 18-4 run after UMass’ held that two-point advantage to take the lead for good and made 13 of its first 16 shots from the field.

After falling behind by double digits, the Minutemen didn’t provide much pushback for the Colonials (8-18, 4-9). UMass trimmed the deficit to eight with nine minutes left, but George Washington answered with a 14-3 run to push the game out of reach.

“Not a tremendous effort by any means by our guys, which continues to be a theme as we march through this year,” coach Matt McCall told WEEI after the game. “Me still trying to figure out what buttons to push with this group has been frustrating. I’ll take ownership and everything of where we’re at, but we have not really moved the needle with our culture and our care and that’s the really disappointing part for me.”

 Luwane Pipkins returned to the lineup for UMass after missing three games with a hamstring injury and scored 13 points. Carl Pierre led the Minutemen with 14 points while shooting 4-of-9 from behind the arc and making both of his free-throw attempts.

 The Colonials placed four starters in double figures, led by 20 from Maceo Jack, and shot 55 percent from the floor in the win.

Preps

Mt. Institute Ski League

Former Mohawk Trail Regional High School skier Ashley LaCross finished second overall in the final Mt. Institute Ski League race of the season to help Northfield Mount Hermon School’s A team to a first-place victory in the girls’ race Wednesday at Berkshire East in Charlemont.

LaCross finished her run in 45.78 seconds to place second behind Deerfield Academy’s Kikka Guidici, who won the race in 45.45. Guidici also captured the top spot on the season and was awarded the Amy Spenser Cup. LaCross took second place on the season.

NMH won the girls race with 201 points on Wednesday, and also captured the season title with 35 points, while Deerfield took second with 31 points.

NMH’s Izzy Campbell was third on Wednesday in 48.21 and placed fourth overall on the season, while Deerfield’s Valerie Hetherington was fourth on Wednesday in 48.39, and finished third on the season. NMH’s Olivia Weinstein was fifth overall in 50.06 and also placed fifth on the season, while teammate Arden Bacon was sixth in 50.95 and came in ninth on the year. Deerfield’s Madeline Carey took seventh in 51.91 and was eighth on the year, NMH’s Mackenzie Gahan was eighth in 52.03 and sixth on the year, teammate Mairead Collins was ninth in 52.59 and 10th on the season, and Deerfield’s Chloe Monty was 10th on Wednesday in 53.70 and seventh for the season.

NMH’s B team took third for the day and the season, while Bement was fourth on the day and sixth on the season.

On the boys side, NMH’s Isaac Foster won Wednesday’s race in 41.85 and finished first on the season to help NMH to a second-place finish as a team both on the day and for the year.

Deerfield won the boys race with 307 points (NMH was second with 284) and also won the season crown. Achille Sarachek was second in 42.66 and finished third on the season, while teammate Axel Mattsson was third on the day in 44.08 and second on the season. NMH’s Nils Skaane was fourth in 44.28 and fourth on the season, while Deerfield’s Garrett Alexander (44.29), Alexander Grosse (44.39) and JP Patton (44.63) were fifth through seventh on the day. Grosse was seventh on the year, and Patton was eighth. NMH’s Eli DiBari was eighth on Wednesday in 46.28 and sixth for the season, while Deerfield’s Nick Baker (47.36) and Granger Savage (47.87) rounded out the top 10 on Wednesday and were 10th and ninth respectively on the season.

Eaglebrook School’s A team was third on Wednesday and for the season, Deerfield’s B team was fifth in both, Eaglebrook’s B team was sixth for both, NMH’s B team was seventh for both, and Bement’s team was ninth for both.

Deerfield scores

The Deerfield boys hockey team tied Kent, 4-4, on Wednesday.

In girls action, Deerfield fell to Williston, 5-2.

On the hardcourt, Deerfield beat Westminster, 61-23, in a girls game, while the boys team suffered a 73-60 loss to Andover.