LEXINGTON, Va. -- Washington and Lee sophomore forward Kirk Jones (Maple Glenn, Pa./Germantown Academy) rebounded a miss and hit the ensuing layup with 2.2 seconds remaining to lift the Generals to a 98-96 victory over Emory & Henry on Wednesday evening at the Warner Center.
The Generals (8-4, 3-3) built a nine-point (56-47) lead at halftime and extended their advantage to as many as 15 points at 74-59 with 12:03 left in the game. However, the Wasps immediately surged on a 19-4 run to tie the game at 78-78 with 7:47 left in the game. The game remained tight from that point on and E&H assumed its first lead of the second half at 91-90 with 2:02 left. The Generals regained the lead on a layup by junior forward Femi Kusimo (Cross Lanes, W.Va./Charleston Catholic) just 20 seconds later and held the lead until Wasps' junior guard Shavar Bland (Newport News, Va./Warwick) tied the game at 96-96 on a three-pointer with 41 seconds remaining.
W&L senior guard Chris Halkitis (New Port Richey, Fla./Ridgewood) missed a three-pointer with 11 seconds remaining, but junior forward Greg Bienemann (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) was there for the offensive rebound. Bienemann missed a layup with five seconds remaining and Kusimo missed a tip with three seconds left. However, Jones made good on the Generals' fourth scoring opportunity for the 98-96 lead. The Wasps did not get a shot off in the final 2.2 seconds as W&L escaped with its fifth victory in the last six games.
The Generals shot a season-best 67.7 percent (42-62) from the floor led by Bienemann, who tallied a season-high 30 points on 15-of-22 shooting from the floor and grabbed a season-high 13 rebounds. Kusimo notched 16 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the field and grabbed nine boards, while Jones posted a season-best 14 points, six rebounds and six assists.
Emory & Henry (7-6, 3-4) was paced by sophomore guard Camillo Weinz (Radford, Va./Radford), who recorded 16 points on 4-of-8 shooting from three-point range. Sophomore guard Andrew Hart (Pulaski, Va./Pulaski County) registered 12 points, sophomore guard Cain Landreth (Brevard, N.C./Brevard) notched 11 points and senior guard Lance Reasbeck (Satellite Beach, Fla./Satellite Beach) added 10 points for the Wasps.
Washington and Lee returns to action on Saturday as it travels to Hampden-Sydney for a 2:00 pm contest.
-- GENERALS --
