Men's Basketball

W&L Men's Hoops Drops Heart-Breaker at Roanoke, 93-92

Box Score

SALEM, Va. – Sophomore forward Joey Miller drilled a pair of free throws with four seconds remaining to lift Roanoke College to a 93-92 win over Washington and Lee in ODAC men's basketball action on Wednesday evening at the Bast Center.

W&L (10-12, 3-10) recovered from a 15-point first-half deficit to take a five-point lead (92-87) when senior guard Andy Kleinlein (Chesterfield, Mo. / Chaminade College Prep) drilled a three-pointer with 1:41 remaining.  However, Miller took over from there, scoring the final six points of the contest, four of which came at the foul line in the final 1:27.

The Generals had a chance to extend a 92-91 lead when Kleinlein led a 2-on-1 break and passed the ball to first-year forward Roy McMillan (Raleigh, N.C. / Broughton), who was fouled with 14 seconds remaining.  McMillan missed the front end of a 1-and-1 and Miller took the ball to the hoop, drawing the foul that led to the game-winning points.  W&L had one last shot at the win, but senior forward Andrew Franz's (Charlotte, N.C. / Ravenscroft) last second three-pointer was blocked and the Maroons walked away with the victory.

The Blue & White shot just 36.8 percent (14-38) from the floor in the first half, as Roanoke raced out to a 33-18 lead at the 6:11 mark.  The Generals made a small run before the half and cut the deficit to single digits (43-35) at the break on a three-pointer by Kleinlein with five seconds remaining.

W&L came out of the locker room blazing in the second half, hitting 70.3 percent (26-37) of its shots from the floor.  Roanoke (18-4, 10-3) still maintained a 12-point lead (58-46) just under three minutes into the second half, but a 16-2 run across 3:03 gave the Generals their first lead since the opening minutes of the game.  A three-point play by sophomore forward Clayton Murtha (Dallas, Texas / Highland Park) got the rally started and he went on to score eight total points during the run.  Kleinlein capped the rally with a three-pointer at the 13:16 mark for a 62-60 advantage. 

From there it was a see-saw battle that saw the lead change hands 18 times, with neither team leading by more than the five-point edge the Generals claimed with less than two minutes remaining.

W&L finished the game 40-of-75 (.533) from the floor, but simply could not overcome Roanoke's 22-6 scoring edge at the foul line.  The Generals went 6-of-11 at the stripe, while the Maroons converted 22-of-29 (.759).

Franz finished with a season-best 22 points, seven rebounds and four assists.  Kleinlein tallied 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.  Murtha totaled 17 points, five rebounds and four assists, while first-year guard Devin Kearns (Cibolo, Texas / Samuel Clemens) amassed 11 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals.  Senior forward Jok Asiyo (Stroudsburg, Pa. / Pocono Mountain East) chipped in a career-high 10 points and four boards as well. 

Roanoke finished 31-for-68 (.456) from the field and went just 9-of-26 (.346) from beyond the arc.  Milled led the way with 19 points and eight rebounds.  Senior guard Carter Wright had 15 points and six rebounds, and junior guard John Fitchett had 14 points and six boards.

Washington and Lee returns to action on Saturday, when it travels to Virginia Wesleyan for a 2:00 pm contest. 

-- http://www.generalssports.com --

 
 
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Players Mentioned

Jok Asiyo

#23 Jok Asiyo

F
6' 3"
Senior
Andrew Franz

#24 Andrew Franz

F
6' 5"
Senior
Devin Kearns

#14 Devin Kearns

G
6' 3"
First Year
Andy Kleinlein

#21 Andy Kleinlein

G
5' 11"
Junior
Roy McMillan

#34 Roy McMillan

G/F
6' 4"
First Year
Clayton Murtha

#55 Clayton Murtha

F
6' 6"
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Jok Asiyo

#23 Jok Asiyo

6' 3"
Senior
F
Andrew Franz

#24 Andrew Franz

6' 5"
Senior
F
Devin Kearns

#14 Devin Kearns

6' 3"
First Year
G
Andy Kleinlein

#21 Andy Kleinlein

5' 11"
Junior
G
Roy McMillan

#34 Roy McMillan

6' 4"
First Year
G/F
Clayton Murtha

#55 Clayton Murtha

6' 6"
Sophomore
F