LEXINGTON, Va. -- Washington and Lee claimed the championship game of the W&L Men's Basketball Tournament with a 71-67 victory over Ferrum at the Warner Center on Monday afternoon. Thomas More won the consolation contest, downing Rhodes by a score of 76-65.
In the championship game, W&L (4-4) shot 50.8 percent from the floor and racked up 22 assists and just 12 turnovers. Neither team led by more than five points in the first half and the Generals carried a 35-31 lead into the break. The Panthers regained the lead early in the second half (40-37), but W&L used a 13-2 run midway through the stanza to assume a 50-42 advantage with 11:52 to play.
W&L extended to a 14-point lead at 64-50 with 6:03 left in the game, but Ferrum went on a 17-5 run over the next 5:40 to slice it to a 69-67 game with 23 seconds remaining. The Panthers had a shot to tie the game with nine seconds remaining, but freshman guard Marcus Mayo's (Lexington, Va./Rockbridge County) three-pointer would not fall and W&L hung on for the four-point win.
Senior forward Greg Bienemann (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) recorded 25 points and nine rebounds en route to earning Tournament MVP honors. Senior forward Femi Kusimo (Cross Lanes, W.Va./Charleston Catholic) notched a season-high 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting in garnering all-tournament honors as well. Junior guard Isaiah Goodman (Richfield, Minn./Holy Angels) added nine points, a career-high seven rebounds and four assists.
Ferrum (5-5) was led by Mayo and senior forward Jon Godsey (Gladys, Va./William Campbell), who totaled 16 points each. Godsey was named to the all-tournament team.
In the consolation, Thomas More (6-5) claimed a 76-65 victory behind 24 points and 11 rebounds from junior forward Mark Tinklenberg (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman), who was named to the all-tournament team. The Saints held a 46-30 advantage on the boards and hit 9-of-22 three-point attempts.
Junior guard Cory Smith (Bartlett, Tenn./Bartlett) led Rhodes (5-5) with 21 points and six rebounds in posting all-tournament accolades. Sophomore guard Jared Hoskins (Rossville, Ga./NGCS) added 15 points for the Lynx.
Washington and Lee returns to action on Thursday as it travels to Goucher College for a 7:30 pm contest.
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