LEXINGTON, Va. -- The Averett men's basketball team shot 73.1 percent from the floor in the first half en route to a 23-point halftime lead in cruising to a 79-56 victory over Washington and Lee in the championship game of the W&L Tip-off Tournament on Saturday evening at the Warner Center. In the consolation game, Denison knocked off Oneonta State by a score of 77-62.
The Cougars (2-0) were 15-of-17 (.882) from inside the three-point arc in the first half and didn't miss their first 2-point shot until 1:07 remained in the first stanza. Averett cooled to shoot 48.3 percent in the second half, but W&L (1-1) could get no closer than a 16-point (59-43) deficit in the second period.
Junior guard Cory McDaniel (Midlothian, Va./Clover Hill) led the Cougars with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting en route to being named to the all-tournament team. Senior forward Andrew Boor (Lovingston, Va./Nelson County) was named the Tournament MVP after tallying 14 points and seven rebounds.
For the Generals, sophomore guard Isaiah Goodman (Richfield, Minn./Holy Angels) recorded a game-high 16 points, while junior forward Greg Bienemann (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) notched 14 points and eight rebounds en route to garnering all-tournament team honors.
In the consolation game, Oneonta (0-2) jumped out to a 14-2 lead in the opening 5:57 of the game, but saw Denison go on a 24-2 run over the next 10:23 en route to the Big Red (1-1) holding a 33-21 lead at the break. The Denison lead swelled to as many as 19 points (60-41) midway through the second half and the Red Dragons were unable to cut their deficit to single digits the rest of the way.
Denison was paced by senior forward Dan Hodgkinson (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest), who scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds in earning all-tournament team accolades. Sophomore forward Shea McMahon (Circleville, Ohio/Circleville) chipped in 21 points and seven boards.
Senior forward William Heslin (Schaghticoke, N.Y./Hoosic Valley) garnered all-tournament recognition for Oneonta State after totaling 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the floor. Senior guard Eric Bratt (Roslyn, N.Y./Roslyn) added 17 points for the Red Dragons.
Washington and Lee returns to action on Tuesday as it travels to Dickinson for a 6:00 pm contest.
-- GENERALS --
