LEXINGTON, Va. -- The Washington and Lee men's basketball team rallied from a 14-point halftime deficit, but never pulled even in falling, 56-53, to No. 18 Randolph-Macon at the Warner Center on Monday evening.

R-MC (17-4, 8-4) shot a blistering 60.9 percent (14-23), including 50.0 percent (6-12) from beyond the arc, in the first half and limited the Generals (13-7, 5-6) to just 32.3 percent (10-31) shooting in the opening stanza as the Yellow Jackets took a 38-24 lead into the break.

Randolph-Macon led by 15 points (46-31) with 14:50 remaining before W&L began a 20-4 run to pull within one point at 51-50 on a jumper by first-year forward J.D. Ey (Charlotte, N.C./Myers Park) with 4:35 to play.

R-MC extended its lead back to four points (54-50) on a three pointer from sophomore guard Adam Desgain (Richmond, Va./J.R. Tucker) on the ensuing possession. W&L senior forward Ben Goetsch (Timonium, Md./Gilman) then split a pair of free throws make the score 54-51 in favor of the Yellow Jackets with 2:50 left.

Randolph-Macon and the Generals traded turnovers and missed shots for the next two minutes until W&L senior forward Zac White (Baltimore, Md./Park School) connected on a short jumper and drew a foul from R-MC junior forward Kevin Voekel (Pleasantville, N.Y./Collegiate School) to draw within one point (54-53) with 24 seconds to play. However, White was unable to connect on the tying free throw and after the Yellow Jackets connected on 2-3 free throws, first-year guard Jeremy Adkins' (Huntington, W. Va./Spring Valley) 40-footer as time expired was just long.

W&L limited the Yellow Jackets to just 18 second-half points on 31.8 percent (7-22) shooting. The Generals also won the rebounding battle (35-32), but shot just 33.9 percent (21-62) for the game, while R-MC shot 46.7 percent (21-45).

For the second time in as many games against Randolph-Macon, Adkins posted a new career-high in scoring as he notched a game-high 15 points, while adding five rebounds. Goetsch added 13 points and five boards, while White chipped in 11 points and six rebounds.

Sophomore guard Calvin Croskey (Manassas, Va./Osburn Park) led Randolph-Macon with 12 points, while junior center Brandon Braxton (Cape Charles, Va./North Hampton) added 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

The Generals return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Lynchburg College for a 7:00 pm contest.

--GENERALS--