LEXINGTON, Va. — Junior guard Andy Kleinlein (Chesterfield, Mo./Chaminade College Prep) drained a jumper with 2.4 seconds left in the game to give the Washington and Lee men's basketball team a 74-72 victory over sixth-ranked Catholic on Tuesday at the Warner Center.

With 1:08 on the clock, senior guard Bryson Fonville (Greensboro, N.C./Page) made a pair of free throws for the Cardinals (2-2) to give CUA a 72-68 lead. Sophomore forward Nicholas George (Charleston, W. Va./Charleston Catholic) was fouled with 58 seconds remaining and sunk the first of two free throws (72-69). George missed the second, but the ball bounced off a Catholic player to give the Generals (3-2) the possession.

Senior forward Andrew Franz (Charlotte, N.C./Ravenscroft) inbounded the ball to Kleinlein at the top of the key, and the point guard drained a triple to tie the game, 72-72, with 56 seconds left on the clock. George stole the ball from senior guard Kyle Phanord (Davie, Fla./University School) with 27 seconds remaining to give the Blue and White the final shot.

W&L moved the ball around on its final possession, with Kleinlein receiving it with 10 seconds remaining. He dribbled in from the top of the key to the foul line, took one step back and then netted the game-winner with 2.4 seconds left in the contest. Catholic pushed the ball down the floor, but failed to get a shot off to reach the final margin. 

Franz finished the game with eight points, four rebounds and five assists, and reached a historic milestone late in the second half. With a three-pointer with 5:10 left in the game, Franz pushed his career point total to 1,001 to become the 23rd player in program history to register 1,000 points. He also pushed his career assist total to 255, which moved him to seventh on the all-time list. Christ Halkitis '07 is sixth all-time with 258.

Sophomore forward Clayton Murtha (Dallas, Texas/Highland Park) led the Blue and White with 19 points and seven rebounds. Kleinlein notched 10 points, five rebounds and four assists. George had 13 points and first-year guard Devin Kearns (Cibolo, Texas/Samuel Clemens) registered a season-high 10 points.

The Generals outscored the Catholic bench, 16-0, as CUA's five starters scored all 72 points. Sophomore guard Jay Howard (Pennsauken, N.J./Paul VI) led the team with 23 points, while Phanord added 22 on 7-of-10 from the field. Junior forward Corey Stanford (Harrison City, Pa./Penn Trafford) tallied a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds.

W&L controlled most of the first half, pushing its lead up to 11 (32-21) with 2:02 left in the opening stanza. It took almost the entire second half, but the Cardinals finally evened the score, 68-68, with 2:05 left in the game. In the final minutes, Kleinlein's heroics proved to be the difference.

This marked the first win over a ranked opponent for the Generals since they topped 22nd-ranked Guilford, 62-58, on January 19, 2013.

The Generals will take a week off for the Thanksgiving break and return to action on Wednesday, December 2, at 7:00 pm, when they host Hampden-Sydney.

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