LEXINGTON, Va. — Senior guard Andy Kleinlein (Chesterfield, Mo./Chaminade College Prep) made a driving layup, while being fouled, and converted the ensuing free throw with 17.6 seconds left in the game to give the seventh-seeded Washington and Lee men's basketball team a 70-69 victory over 10th-seeded Eastern Mennonite in the first round of the ODAC Tournament on Monday at the Warner Center. 

Following a three-pointer by sophomore wing Travis Clower, the Royals (10-16) held a six-point advantage, 66-60, with 3:36 left in the game. From there, sophomore guard Devin Kearns (Cibolo, Texas/Samuel Clemens) scored seven straight points. He connected on two free throws at the 3:11 mark, and then sunk a three-pointer from the corner that kissed off the glass before dropping through the net to bring the Generals (12-14) to within one, 66-65, with 2:11 remaining in the contest.

After a missed three by EMU, Kearns hit a pull-up jumper from the free throw line to put W&L in front (67-66) with 1:30 left in the game. Both teams came up empty on their next possessions, but the Royals went back ahead, 69-67, on a three-pointer by junior wing RaShawn Latimer with 28 ticks on the clock.

The Blue and White pushed the ball down the floor with Kleinlein controlling it at the top of the key. He drove down the right side of the lane, and laid the ball off the glass and in, as first-year center Darius Johnson bumped him. Kleinlein drained the free throw to give W&L a 70-69 lead with 17.6 seconds remaining.

Following a timeout, Latimer drove to the basket, but junior forward Nicholas George (Charleston, W. Va./Charleston Catholic) deflected the ball away. Junior forward Clayton Murtha (Dallas, Texas/Highland Park) corralled the lose ball and was fouled with 3.8 seconds remaining in the game. Murtha missed the front end of a one-and-one, his 10th miss from the line on the night, and junior wing Jerome Jones secured the rebound.

EMU used another timeout to set up its final play. W&L shut off the deep pass, and the Royals had to inbound the ball into the backcourt. Junior wing Isaiah Harris-Winn raced the ball up the court, but was forced to launch a three-pointer from half court as time expired. His attempt hit the left iron and fell to the floor to seal the victory for the Generals.

Murtha led the Blue and White with 23 points and seven rebounds. He was 9-of-14 from the floor, but struggled from the line, hitting 5-of-15. Kleinlein added 20 points and four steals, while Kearns totaled 18 points and five rebounds.

Latimer led the Royals with a career-high 28 points, making 11-of-17 from the floor and 6-of-8 from long range. Jones grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.

Each team failed to convert at the free throw line. W&L went 13-of-24 (54.2 percent) and EMU was 7-of-12 (58.3 percent). The Royals turned the ball over 18 times compared to just 11 for the Generals.

In the opening half, the Blue and White trailed by seven (17-10) just six minutes into the game, but responded with 10 of the next 14 points to trim the lead to one, 21-10, at the 10:56 mark. The Generals eventually went up 33-29 with 2:47 left in the stanza, but EMU closed the half on a 9-0 run to take a 38-33 advantage at the break. W&L quickly erased the deficit with the first five points of the second, and the teams remained within seven the rest of the contest.

The Generals advance to play second-seeded Randolph-Macon in the quarterfinals of the ODAC Tournament on Thursday at 6:00 pm at the Salem Civic Center.

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