LEXINGTON, Va. -- The Washington and Lee and Averett men's basketball teams both advanced to the championship game of the W&L Tip-off Tournament with wins on Friday evening at the Warner Center. The home-standing Generals defeated Denison in the nightcap, 82-71, while Averett knocked off Oneonta State in the opening game by a score of 71-55.

W&L and Denison played through a tight first half where the two teams exchanged the lead 11 times and were tied on six occasions. The Big Red opened a nine-point lead (58-49) with 11:49 remaining in the game, but the Generals responded with a 21-5 run over the next 8:11 to assume a 70-63 lead with 3:38 remaining in the game. Denison climbed to within three points (70-67) with 2:54 left in the game, but could get no closer as the Generals pulled away for the 11-point victory, their first season-opening win since 2002-03.

Senior guard Chris Halkitis (New Port Richey, Fla./Ridgewood) led the Generals with 15 points and five rebounds, while junior forward Greg Bienemann (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) tallied 13 points and eight rebounds in just 19 minutes due to foul trouble. Junior forward Femi Kusimo (Cross Lanes, W.Va./Charleston Catholic) added 11 points and five boards.

Denison was paced by senior forward Dan Hodgkinson (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest), who notched a game-high 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting. Sophomore forward Shea McMahon (Circleville, Ohio/Circleville) chipped in 13 points and five boards.

In the opener, Averett used a 19-0 run over a nine-minute stretch of the first half to assume a 35-14 lead with 3:44 remaining in the half and held a double-digit lead the rest of the way in cruising to the 16-point victory.

The Cougars placed five players in double-figures, led by sophomore center Damien Brown (Raleigh, N.C./Millbrook) and sophomore guard Ryan Frazier (New Castle, Va./Northside), who scored 14 points each. Senior forward Andrew Boor (Lovingston, Va./Nelson County) recorded 11 points and junior guards Cory McDaniel (Midlothian, Va./Clover Hill) and Shaun Hagwood (Bassett, Va./Basset) added 10 points each.

Oneonta State was led by senior guard Eric Bratt's (Roslyn, N.Y./Roslyn) 18 points and six rebounds. Senior forward William Heslin (Schaghticoke, N.Y./Hoosic Valley) contributed 14 points and six boards.

Oneonta and Denison will meet in Saturday's consolation game at 6:00 pm, while W&L and Averett will play the championship game at 8:00 pm.

-- GENERALS --