MOUNT BERRY, Ga. — The Washington and Lee men's basketball team had five shots to tie the score in the final 1:08 of the game, but came up empty on each attempt in a 68-65 loss at Berry on Tuesday.

The Vikings (3-1) made two free throws with 4:57 left in the contest to take an eight-point advantage (65-57), which equaled the largest lead of the game. A layup by junior forward Clayton Murtha (Dallas, Texas/Highland Park) brought the Generals (1-3) to within six, 65-59, with 4:11 on the clock.

A pair of free throws by sophomore forward Roy McMillan (Raleigh, N.C./Broughton) on the team's next possession trimmed the deficit to 65-51. With 3:14 left in the game, sophomore guard Devin Kearns (Cibolo, Texas/Samuel Clemens) converted an old-fashioned three-point play to close the gap to one, 65-64.

Junior forward Alton McCloud responded with a layup on the ensuing trip down the floor to push the lead back to three (67-64). Murtha was fouled with 2:29 left, but split the pair from the line to leave the margin at two, 67-65. Each team came up empty on its next possessions, but senior guard Blake Jones made one of two free throws with 1:19 on the clock to extend the lead to 68-65.

Senior guard Andy Kleinlein (Chesterfield, Mo./Chaminade College Prep) missed a triple from the far elbow on the Blue & White's next offensive possession, but junior forward Nicholas George (Charleston, W. Va./Charleston Catholic) corralled the rebound. He attempted a three-pointer of his own, but it missed the mark as well. McMillan grabbed the board, but his game-tying attempt came up short.

Berry finally secured the basketball, and after a couple of fouls to put the Vikings in the bonus, junior guard McCarty Forte stepped to the line trying to ice the game with 37 seconds remaining. Forte left his shot short, and Murtha snatched his team-leading ninth rebound of the contest. McMillan again attempted a game-tying three, but came up empty. Junior forward Caleb Johnson then missed the front end of a one-and-one, giving the Generals one final chance with 17 seconds left.

On the final possession, W&L moved the ball around the perimeter with it landing in the hands of an open McMillan in the near corner. He launched the triple, but it hit back iron. Kearns grabbed the rebound, but the clock expired to give the Vikings the 68-65 victory.

Murtha scored a game-high 15 points to go with his nine rebounds. Kleinlein totaled 13 points and five assists, while Kearns had 12 points and four steals. McMillan recorded 10 points, six rebounds and four assists.

Sophomore forward Tanner Spalding came off the bench to notch 15 points on 7-of-11 from the floor and he grabbed seven rebounds. Forte also came into the game as a reserve, totaling 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting.

The Vikings shot 26-of-52 (50.0 percent) from the floor and only committed 10 turnovers. W&L hit 20-of-50 (40.0 percent) from the field and turned it over 16 times.

The Generals open ODAC play on Saturday, when they host Lynchburg at 4:00 pm.

-- www.generalssports.com