W&L Men's Basketball Notes - Week 12

Game 24: W&L (11-12, 6-8 ODAC) at Roanoke (9-14, 2-12 ODAC)
Date: Wednesday, February 13, 7:00 pm
Location: Salem, Va.
Series Record: Roanoke leads, 79-42

Game 25: Shenandoah (3-20, 0-14 ODAC) at W&L (11-12, 6-8 ODAC)
Date: Saturday, February 16, 2:0 pm
Location: Lexington, Va.
Series Record: W&L leads, 8-3

Game Notes

LAST TIME OUT  •  RANDOLPH 65, W&L 59 (2/9/13)
Randolph senior guard Colton Hunt paced four players in double figures with 17 points as the WildCats defeated Washington and Lee for the fifth straight time, claiming a 64-59 victory on Saturday at the RAD Center.  W&L (11-12, 6-8) grabbed its first lead of the game at the 9:52 mark of the first half as first-year forward Andrew Franz nailed a three-pointer to give the Generals a 20-19 lead. Randolph used an 8-0 run, featuring five points by Hunt, to push back out to a 27-20 lead at the 8:19 mark en route to posting a 34-30 lead at the break. The Generals knotted the game at 41-41 with 13:49 remaining on a Franz layup, but the WildCats reclaimed the lead the next time down the floor on a three-pointer by first-year guard Corey Brown and never trailed again. W&L remained within a single possession of tying the game until back-to-back jumpers by junior guard Mike Ehilegbu and Hunt gave RC a seven-point lead (57-50) with 5:54 to play.  The Generals sliced it to a five-point game twice in the final 2:54 but could get no closer as the WildCats improved to 19-4 overall and 10-4 in the ODAC.  Washington and Lee shot 47.1 percent (24-51) from the floor and committed just 11 turnovers in the contest.  The Generals were led by Franz, who scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds.  Sophomore guard Javon McDonald tallied 14 points, while sophomore forward Patrick O'Connor notched 12 points and grabbed five boards. Senior forward J.D. Ey chipped in six points, eight rebounds and a career-high 11 assists. Randolph also shot 24-of-51 (.471) from the floor and also committed just 11 turnovers.  However, the WildCats knocked down 9-of-22 (.409) attempts from beyond the arc. Hunt grabbed 13 rebounds to go with his 17 points, while Ehilegbu notched 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 3-of-4 from distance. Brown and senior center Chris Battaglia both added 14 points.

LAST TIME AGAINST ROANOKE  •  W&L 61, ROANOKE 48 (1/16/13)
Washington and Lee held Roanoke to 15 second-half points en route to a 61-48 home victory on January 16 at the Warner Center. Senior forward J.D. Ey notched a double-double with 15 points (6-of-10 from the field) and 11 rebounds. He also added five steals, four blocks and two assists to pace the Generals. W&L came out of halftime with a 34-33 lead, but the Maroons scored the first six points of the second on four points by senior guard Jordan Thacker and a layup by senior guard Kwasi Amponsah to take a 39-34 lead with 15:10 remaining in the game. Head coach Adam Hutchinson called time out for the Generals, and the team responded with 10 of the next 12 points, capped on a three-pointer by junior guard Kevin Gill, to regain a three-point advantage (44-41) with 9:52 left on the clock. W&L would not relinquish the lead, as it finished the contest on a 17-7 run. For the game, the Generals shot 21-of-54 (38.9 percent) from the field and 6-for-20 (30.0 percent) from long distance. W&L took 17 more free throws than Roanoke, but only converted on 13-of-23 (56.5 percent). The Maroons went 3-of-6 (50.0 percent) from the foul line, 19-of-62 (30.6 percent) from the field and 7-of-21 (33.3 percent) from three-point range. The two teams traded baskets to start the game with the score tied, 8-8, at the 13:56 mark. The Blue and White went on a 13-2 stretch to push the lead to 11, 21-10, with 8:30 left in the half. Five Generals scored during the run, including layups by Ey (twice), junior forward Larry Whitaker, first-year forward Andrew Franz and junior forward Drew Kimberly.  Roanoke rebounded from the double-digit deficit by out-scoring the Generals, 23-13, in the final eight minutes to pull within one, 34-33, heading into intermission. Thacker drained three three-pointers during the stretch to lead the Maroons. Joining Ey in double figures for the Generals was Franz with 15 points. Franz also grabbed seven boards and tallied one steal. Sophomore guard Javon McDonald added nine points, two rebounds and an assist off the bench. Thacker led RC with 13 points, four assists and two steals. Amponsah scored 10 points but needed 13 shots to reach the total. Sophomore guard Julian Ramirez stuffed the box score with four points, seven rebounds, four steals and three assists.

SCOUTING ROANOKE
The Maroons enter the week 9-14 overall, but just 2-12 in the ODAC. Roanoke ended its four-game losing streak with a victory at home against Shenandoah on Saturday, 65-61. Sophomore forward Daniel Eacho tallied his sixth double-double in seven games, netting 22 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. Eacho was followed in scoring by junior forward Andrew Daniels and senior guard Kwasi Amponsah, each netting 17 points. First-year forward Cameron Smith tallied a career-high 10 rebounds in the effort for the Maroons. Roanoke averages 72.5 points per game on 42.2 percent (581-1376) shooting. Amponsah is averaging a team-best 17.9 ppg, which is third in the conference. Daniel leads the team in rebounds at 8.3. The Maroons lead the all-time series with the Generals, 79-42. W&L won three straight, including a 61-48 victory in Lexington earlier this season. The Blue and White have won six of the last 10 overall and four of the last five at Salem.

LAST TIME AGAINST SHENANDOAH  •  W&L 68, SHENANDOAH 63 (11/24/12)
Senior forward J.D. Ey totaled 22 points and 12 rebounds to lead Washington and Lee to a 68-63 victory over Shenandoah in the ODAC-opener for both teams on November 24. Neither team led by more than five points in the opening half as the Generals committed 16 first-half turnovers that led to 13 more shots by the Hornets.  First-year forward Andrew Franz gave W&L a 27-22 lead with a layup at the 4:43 mark, but the Generals could not pull away and a three-pointer by SU guard Sharif Almulla cut the W&L lead to just 30-29 at the break. Almulla canned another three-pointer to start the second half, giving the Hornets a 32-30 lead. After an Ey layup tied the lead at 32-32, Shenandoah took its largest lead of the game (35-32) on a triple by forward Shaquille Rodney just 1:32 in to the second half. Four straight points from junior forward Jonathan Rice gave the Generals the lead back at 36-35 and the advantage held up until a layup by SU guard Jimi Starks tied the score at 44-44 with 11:40 left to play. The score remained tied at 52-52 with 7:33 left to play before the Generals took the lead for good on an Ey layup at the 7:07 mark for a 54-52 lead. A three-pointer by junior guard Kevin Gill and a three-point play by Ey extended the lead to 63-56 with 3:36 remaining. Shenandoah got no closer than three-points (66-63) the rest of the way as Gill canned three free throws in the final 11 seconds to secure the win. The Generals committed just six turnovers in the second half (22 total) and shot 46.0 percent (23-50) for the game.  W&L also held a commanding 47-28 advantage on the boards. Ey was joined in double figures by sophomore guard Javon McDonald, who recorded 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the foul line. Rice and Franz both added nine points, while Gill posted six points, all in the final 3:57, and grabbed seven rebounds. Shenandoah shot just 38.5 percent (25-65) from the floor, but hit 10-of-24 (.417) three-point attempts.  Almulla led the Hornets with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting from distance, while guard Bryce Mitchell had 10 points.

SCOUTING SHENANDOAH
Shenandoah is 3-20 overall and 0-14 in the ODAC entering the week. Shenandoah is on a 16-game losing streak with its last victory at Marymount, 68-55, on November 28. On Saturday, SU lost at Roanoke, 65-61. Sophomore guard Jared Carithers paced the Hornets with 17 points. Sophomore guard Eli McEathron and sophomore guard Dante Seraile added nine each in support of Carithers. The Hornets are averaging 60.3 points per game on 38.0 percent (501-1,317) shooting. Carithers lead the team in scoring at 13.1 ppg, while sophomore forward Xavier Alson averages a team-best 5.2 rebounds per game. The Generals lead the all-time series, 8-3, including a 68-63 win earlier this season. W&L won the first six games in the series, which started on February 3, 1977. The Hornets earned their first victory over the Generals in 1983 with the teams not playing again until 2000. Washington and Lee is 5-1 all-time at home against Shenandoah.

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 110-147 (.428) 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 143-213 (.402).

FRANZTASTIC PLAY
Rookie forward Andrew Franz erupted for a career-high 27 points in the 30-point victory over Emory & Henry. Franz hit on 11-of-16 shots, including 4-of-5 from behind the arc. He also added seven rebounds. He followed that with 17 points and seven rebounds at Randolph. Over his last five games, Franz is averaging 17.6 points per game on 36-of-69 (52.2 percent) shooting, 6.6 rebounds per game and 4.2 assists per game. For the season, Franz is at 11.2 ppg (first among first-years in the ODAC) on 47.7 percent (94-197) shooting. He also contributes 4.3 rpg and 2.0 apg.

BEHIND THE ARC
Javon McDonald continues to do most of his damage from long distance. The sophomore guard is third in the ODAC in three-point percentage at 44.5 percent (49-110). Kodie Critzer of Hampden-Sydney leads the ODAC at 44.7 percent (34-76). McDonald is also fifth in the conference in three-point makes. In the last four games, he has made 12 three's in 27 attempts. He is leading the Generals in scoring at 12.2 points per game on 41.2 percent (82-199) shooting. He has 13 double-digit scoring games, two 20-point games and a season-high of 25 points against Lynchburg on January 5.

EVEN MORE FROM LONG DISTANCE
The Generals set a team record last Wednesday when they made 15 three-pointers in the 30-point victory over the Wasps. W&L hit 15-of-27 (51.7 percent) triples, including 11 in the second half. The previous record was 14 done twice (at Guilford in 2007 and at home against Methodist in 2011). The Blue and White set the mark on its final shot of the game when senior forward Matt Gaeta drained a three from the top of the key with 47 ticks on the clock.

KEEPING AN EY OUT FOR THE OPEN MAN
Against Randolph on Saturday, senior forward J.D. Ey set a new career-high in assists in the 104th game of his career. Ey dished out 11 dimes, which marked the first time a General had at least 10 assists since Jason Cimino '11 notched 10 against Eastern Mennonite on January 5, 2011. Ey's previous high was seven done three times. He also moved into a tie for fifth on the W&L all-time steals list with 134. Isaiah Goodman '09 totaled 134 in his career. Ey is also approaching 1,000 points and would become the 22nd player in program history to reach the mark. For his career, he has totaled 979 points, 804 rebounds, 163 blocks, 134 steals and 232 assists. Ey is the only player in W&L history with at least 900 points, 800 rebounds, 200 assists, 150 blocks and 100 steals.

CLOSING IN ON TOURNEY TIME
With just one week left in the regular season, the Generals are jockeying for the final seeding in the ODAC Tournament. With two victories and losses by Bridgewater and Eastern Mennonite, the Generals could finish as high as seventh. W&L can also finish eighth or fall to as low as ninth. If W&L ended the year seventh or eighth, it would host an ODAC First Round game on Tuesday, February 19, at 7:00 pm. If the Blue and White finish ninth, the team would go out on the road on that Tuesday.  

INTERVIEW WITH COACH HUTCHINSON
Following each game, coach Adam Hutchinson takes a minute to answer some questions about his team's performance. The interview is normally up 20 minutes after the game and can be found at http://www.youtube.com/user/wlusports. All archived interviews can be found there as well.