W&L Men's Basketball Notes - Week 5

Game 8: W&L (4-3, 1-1 ODAC) vs. Bates (4-5, 0-0 NESCAC)
Date: Wednesday, December 19, 4:00 pm
Location: Daytona Beach, Fla.
Series Record: First Meeting

Game 9: W&L (4-3, 1-1 ODAC) vs. Marymount (3-5, 0-2 CAC)
Date: Friday, December 21, 4:00 pm
Location: Daytona Beach, Fla.
Series Record: W&L leads, 2-0

Game Notes

LAST TIME OUT  •   W&L 87, AVERETT 71 (12/5/12)
Using a 20-8 run at the end of the first half, Washington and Lee ended its two-game losing streak with an 87-71 victory over Averett at the Warner Center on December 5. The Generals (4-2) also had five players score in double figures for the first time this season, with three notching their career highs. The Cougars (2-3), playing their first game in nine days, took the early lead, 10-6, after five minutes of action. W&L closed the gap (10-9) with a three-pointer by sophomore forward Patrick O'Connor. The teams went back and forth for the next six minutes with senior guard Justin Pierce making the first of two free throws to tie the game at 22. Pierce made his second free throw, which started a 6-0 run for AU. The Cougars would extend their advantage to 34-26 after a layup by Pierce with 6:49 remaining in the first half. The Generals called timeout, and O'Connor scored five-straight points to cut the lead to three, 34-31. The teams traded baskets on the next seven possessions with the Cougars holding a two-point lead, 42-40 with 2:41 left. The Generals scored the final seven points of the half, highlighted by a layup and three-pointer by first-year forward Andrew Franz to take a 46-42 advantage into intermission. W&L would not relinquish the lead the rest of the game. The Blue and White kept widening the gap in the second half, and held a 76-64 lead with 5:33 left in the contest. The Generals scored eight of the next 10 points to extend the advantage to 18 (84-66) with 2:53 left in the game. Both teams emptied their benches in the final two minutes to reach the final tally of 87-71. O'Connor, Franz and junior guard Kevin Gill all set career highs in points. O'Connor made every shot he took for 13 points on 4-of-4 from the field, 2-of-2 from long range and 3-of-3 from the charity stripe. Gill totaled 21 points on 7-of-12 from the field and nailed four three-pointers. Franz notched 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Also in double figures for the Generals was sophomore guard Javon McDonald with 16 and junior forward Larry Whitaker with 11. Senior forward J.D. Ey did everything else for W&L with six rebounds, six assists and four blocks. The Generals shot 50.9 percent (28-55) from the field, 57.9 percent (11-19) from behind the arc and 95.2 percent (20-21) from the free-throw line. The free-throw percentage was a season high for the Blue and White. W&L also totaled 20 assists and only 10 turnovers. Senior guard Marquis Scott led the Cougars with 20 points on 10-of-12 from the foul line. Scott also added a game-high seven rebounds and four assists. Pierce totaled 19 points on 7-of-12 from the field. Averett shot 35.8 percent (24-67) from the field, 38.9 percent (7-18) from deep and 80.0 percent (16-20) from the foul line. AU out-rebounded W&L, 40-31, including 21 offensive boards for the Cougars. It marked the first time all season the Generals had fewer rebounds than their opponent.

SCOUTING BATES
The Bobcats are 4-5 through their first nine games. Bates suffered a four-game losing streak from November 20 through December 3, but have won two of its last three. The Bobcats last played on December 8, and earned a 67-57 home victory over Colby. Junior guard Luke Matarazzo led the team with 27 points, 20 in the second half, in the non-conference match up. Colby led by as many as 16 points in the first half, but a barrage of three-pointers in the second half erased the Mules' advantage in the first 10 minutes. Sophomore guard Graham Safford finished with 14 points and seven rebounds, and senior guard Mark Brust ended with 10 points and six boards. The Bobcats average 65.9 points per game on 40.3 percent (228-566) shooting. Senior center Ed Bogdanovich leads the team in points (13.3) and rebounds (8.3) per game. Safford is the team leader in assists at 3.4 per game. This will be the first meeting between the Bobcats and the Generals.

LAST TIME AGAINST MARYMOUNT  •  W&L 84, AVERETT 71 (11/29/90)
Washington and Lee took control of the game in the first half, out-scoring the Saints, 41-26, and cruised to a 84-71 victory. The Generals shot 52 percent from the field, 75 percent from the three-point line and 87 percent from the foul line. The W&L defense held the Saints to 34 percent from the field and 40 percent from behind the arc. Marymount also shot 65 percent from the free throw line. Ed Hart led Washington and Lee with 33 points on 14-of-22 shooting and added eight rebounds. Joining Hart in double figures was Mike Holton with 13 points on 4-of-8 from the field. Holton also dished out seven assists and grabbed four rebounds. Chris Jacobs led the Generals with 11 boards and notched eight points. Cam Falkenhagen and Robert Spencer led the Saints with 14 points. Scott Dawyot added 12 points and totaled nine rebounds. He also had a game-high four steals.

SCOUTING MARYMOUNT
The Saints enter the week 3-5 overall and 0-2 in the Capital Athletic Conference. After winning its season-opener against Marywood, Marymount lost four straight before winning two of its last three. The Saints hosted Coast Guard on Sunday, and defeated the Bears, 72-55. Junior forward Reed Scott led all players with 17 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double. He added three steals and a pair of blocks while shooting an impressive 8-of-14 from the floor. Sophomore guard Antonio Rouse added 13 points and three assists for MU, while sophomore forward JC Hoellich chipped in 10 points and five boards off the bench. On the year, the Saints are averaging 66.8 points per game on 43.6 percent shooting (178-408). Marymount only connects on 33.3 percent (37-111) of its three-point shots and averages 35.8 rebounds per game. Rouse leads the team in scoring at 10.8 points per game with Scott right behind him at 10.4 per game. Scott is also the leader in rebounds at 7.0 per game. Rouse does most of the distributing at 3.0 assists per game. MU is 2-1 at home this year, 0-4 on the road and 1-0 in neutral-site contests. The Generals and the Saints have played twice with W&L winning both contests. The teams first met on January 14, 1989, with the Generals winning on their home court, 81-75. The last meeting between the two squads happened on November 19, 1990, with W&L winning at MU, 84-71.

THE HEAD GENERAL
Adam Hutchinson (Amherst, '93) is in his 10th season as the head coach at Washington and Lee. He earned his 100th victory at W&L in the season-opening win against Tufts at the John K. Adams Tip-Off Classic. He now has a 103-138 (.427) record, and is the second coach in school history to reach the 100-win plateau. Last season, Hutchinson passed Harry (Cy) Young for second all-time in coaching wins at W&L. The 2008 ODAC Coach of the Year, Hutchinson led his 2009 team to the ODAC Championship game for the first time since 1989. In his 13 seasons of coaching, Hutchinson has an overall record of 136-204 (.400).

THREE'S THE KEY
The Generals have hurt opponents with their three-point shooting this season and lead the Old Dominion Athletic Conference  at 46.4 percent (52-112). Randolph is second at 43.7 percent (69-158). W&L has been a little Jekyll and Hyde with its deep shots, shooting at least 55 percent in four game, but were at or under 30 percent in the other three contests. The Blue and White are 3-1 in the games at 55 percent or better and just 1-2 when failing to shoot over 30 percent from behind the arc. First-year forward Andrew Franz leads the Generals at 53.8 percent (7-13), and is fifth in the conference. Sophomore guard Greg Lewis of Hampden Sydney leads the league at 58.3 percent (21-36).

CAREER NIGHTS
In the victory over Averett, three Washington and Lee players notched career highs in scoring. Junior guard Kevin Gill totaled 21 points, Andrew Franz scored 16 and sophomore forward Patrick O'Connor netted 13. Gill scored 17 of his 21 in the second half and finished the night shooting 7-of-12 from the field and 4-of-8 from long distance. Gill's previous career high was 18, which he reach twice, most recently in the victory at Methodist on November 20. It marked the fourth time this season Gill reached double figures in points, and the team is 3-0 when he scores at least 13. Franz reached his 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting, and he added two rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block. Franz previous high was 15 at Methodist this season. O'Connor had a perfect night from the floor on 4-of-4 from the field, 2-of-2 from long range and 3-of-3 from the charity stripe. It marked the first time he reached double-digits in points with his previous high of eight coming against Tufts earlier this season on November 16.

CLEANING THE GLASS
The Generals have out-rebounded their opponents in all but one game this season. W&L is averaging 37.9 rebounds per game with 25.6 defensive and 12.3 offensive. The Blue and White is just sixth in the conference in rebounds per game, but lead the league in rebounding margin. The Generals out-rebound the opposition by 6.7 per game. W&L is led by senior forward J.D. Ey (8.0 per game) and junior forward Jonathan Rice (6.7 per game). Ey leads the conference, while Rice is sixth. Both Ey and Rice have one double-digit rebounding game and one double-double.  

WE'VE GOT OUR EY ON YOU
Senior forward J.D. Ey has picked up from where he left off last season, averaging almost a double-double this year. He is scoring 10.1 points and grabbing 8.0 rebounds per game, highlighted by his 22-point, 12-rebound outburst in the Generals' ODAC-opening win at Shenandoah. Ey is shooting 49.2 percent (30-61) from the field, 62.5 percent (10-16) from the charity stripe and 14.3 percent (1-7) from long distance. He is also getting it done on defense with 1.9 blocks and 1.0 steals per game. He has the Generals' season-high in blocks (4, done twice) and steals (3 at Rutgers-Newark). Against Averett, he impacted the game despite netting only two points by notching six rebounds, six assists and four blocks. Ey is second in the conference in blocks per game. Junior forward Trent Batson of Virginia Wesleyan leads the ODAC at 2.9 per game.

SCORING WITH MCDONALD
In three of the General's seven games, sophomore guard Javon McDonald has been the team's leading scorer. He has totaled at least 13 points in six of the team's seven games, and he has a season-high of 19 points in two games this year. McDonald recorded 19 in the victory at Methodist in only 19 minutes, and totaled 19 at Ferrum on December 3. He is tied for the team lead in three-pointers made with Kevin Gill (15) and has attempted 19 more free throws than anyone else on the roster. For the season, he is shooting 43.9 percent (29-66) from the field, 46.9 percent (15-32) from long distance and 64.9 percent (24-37) from the foul line.

ROAD TRIPS
The Generals have been riding the bus often this season with seven of their first nine games coming away from the Warner Center. After the two games at the Daytona Shootout, W&L will return to Lexington for three straight home games and five of its next seven at the Warner Center. The Generals are 2-2 on the road, 1-0 in neutral sites and 1-1 at home this season.