FERRUM, Va. — The Washington and Lee men's basketball team rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to tie the game in the second half, but ultimately lost at Ferrum, 74-69, in the season-opener on Tuesday.

The Blue and White (0-1) trailed, 36-26, at the half, and the Panthers (1-0) scored the first bucket of the second to grab a 12-point advantage (38-26) with 19:40 on the clock. The Generals responded with a 9-2 run, highlighted by five points by junior forward Clayton Murtha (Dallas, Texas/Highland Park), over the next four minutes to trim the deficit to 40-35.

Ferrum junior guard Josh Dudley canned two free throws to extend the lead to 42-35, but W&L cut the advantage to two (42-40) with 14:05 left in the game on a triple by junior forward Nicholas George (Charleston, W. Va./Charleston Catholic) and a layup by first-year guard Trey Lewis (Houston, Texas/St. John's School).

The Panthers regained a seven-point margin, 50-43, with 11:12 on the clock. The Generals answered with an 11-4 spurt, capped on a jumper by Murtha, to tie the game at 54-54 with 8:42 remaining.

Murtha was fouled on the basket and had a chance to give W&L the lead, but missed the ensuing free throw. Junior guard D'Andre Mullen notched five straight points to push the lead back to five (59-54) with 7:39 on the clock.

The margin was still at five with 2:14 remaining, but an old-fashioned three-point play by sophomore guard Devin Kearns (Cibolo, Texas/Samuel Clemens) closed the gap to two, 64-62. Murtha had an opportunity to tie the game 45 seconds later, but split a pair of free throws to leave the Generals trailing by one (64-63) with 1:34 left in the contest.

The Generals got another stop, but a turnover by George gave Ferrum the ball with 53 seconds on the clock. Dudley converted a three-point play on the next possession to extend the lead back to four, 67-63, with 32 seconds remaining.

Kearns was called for an offensive foul the next trip down the floor for W&L. Head Coach Adam Hutchinson was given back-to-back technical fouls following the play, and the Panthers hit two of four free throws to claim a 69-63 lead. The Generals attempted to play the foul game down the stretch, but couldn't close the gap, falling 74-69.

Murtha ended the night with 19 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Kearns added 15 points and six rebounds, while senior guard Andy Kleinlein (Chesterfield, Mo./Chaminade College Prep) and sophomore forward Roy McMillan (Raleigh, N.C./Broughton) each had nine points.

Dudley totaled 19 points, five rebounds and three assists, while junior forward Josh Grimard contributed 10 points and six rebounds.

W&L shot 22-of-45 (48.9 percent) from the floor, but just 68.0 percent (17-of-25) from the charity stripe. Ferrum took 39 free throws in the game and hit 27 to finish at a 69.2 percent clip. The Panthers shot 43.5 percent (20-of-46) from the field.

The Generals return to action on Friday at the Chuck Resler Invitational hosted by the University of Rochester. W&L will play Suffolk at 1:00 pm.

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