LEXINGTON, Va. — Roanoke shot 17-of-30 (56.7 percent) from three-point range to defeat the Washington and Lee men's basketball team, 105-96, on Wednesday at the Warner Center.

The Maroons (11-1, 3-0 ODAC) held a 20-17 lead seven minutes into the first half, and then a triple by sophomore guard Dustin Hassell (Troutville, Va./Lord Botetourt) started a 16-8 run for Roanoke to push the advantage to 36-25 by the 6:56 mark.

First-year guard Devin Kearns (Cibolo, Texas/Samuel Clemens) splashed a triple to bring the Generals (7-4, 1-2 ODAC) to within eight (36-28), but Roanoke responded with five straight points to extend the margin to 41-28 with 4:34 left in the half. The teams would trade baskets in the final four minutes with the Maroons holding a 53-39 lead at the break.

Roanoke extended the lead to 19 (83-64) with 8:39 left in the second, but W&L closed the gap in the final eight minutes. A layup by Kearns with 8:16 left in the contest ignited a Generals' 7-1 spurt to trim the deficit to 13, 71-84, with 6:45 left on the clock.

The Blue and White continued to work the lead down, and a layup by first-year forward Roy McMillan (Raleigh, N.C./Broughton) brought the Generals to within nine, 95-86, with 1:49 to go in the game. Roanoke sophomore forward Joey Miller (Yorktown, Va./Grafton) made two free throws to stretch the advantage back to double digits, but four straight free throws by junior guard Andy Kleinlein (Chesterfield, Mo./Chaminade College Prep) trimmed the lead to seven (97-90) with 55 seconds left on the clock.

The Maroons made three of their next four from the charity stripe, but back-to-back buckets by Kearns cut the deficit to six, 100-94, with 32 seconds remaining in the contest. Roanoke stymied the Generals' rally by scoring five points in the final 30 seconds to reach the final margin of 105-96.

The 17 made three-pointers were a season-high for Roanoke. W&L shot 10-of-28 (35.7 percent) from long range, but connected on 35-of-68 shots (51.5 percent) from the field. The Maroons finished at 51.6 percent (33-of-64) from the floor. W&L hurt itself at the free throw line, making just 16-of-25 attempts (64.0 percent).

Kearns led all scorers with a career-high 27 points on 10-of-16 shooting. He also had a team-high six rebounds. Kleinlein finished the night with 18 points and three assists, sophomore forward Nicholas George (Charleston, W. Va./Charleston Catholic) totaled 13 points and sophomore forward Clayton Murtha (Dallas, Texas/Highland Park) tallied 11 points.

Senior forward Cameron Smith (Lexington, N.C./Northeast Guilford) led the Maroons with 20 points. He went 7-of-10 from the field and hit 4-of-4 from beyond the arc. Senior guard Carter Wright (Roanoke, Va./Hidden Valley) notched 19 points, including four triples, and first-year forward John Caldwell (Spartanburg, S.C./Christ School) came off the bench to register 14 points and nine rebounds.

The Generals return to action on Sunday, when they host Lynchburg at 2:00 pm.

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