SALEM, Va. — The seventh-seeded Washington and Lee men's basketball team used a 14-1 run midway through the first half en route to a 78-67 upset victory over second-seeded Randolph-Macon in the quarterfinals of the ODAC Tournament on Thursday at the Salem Civic Center.

The Yellow Jackets (17-9) held a 15-8 lead with 11:52 remaining in the first, but then the Generals (13-14) went on their run. Junior forward Clayton Murtha (Dallas, Texas/Highland Park) ignited the spurt by converting an old-fashioned three-point play, and then after a free throw by R-MC sophomore forward Darryl Williams, senior guard Andy Kleinlein (Chesterfield, Mo./Chaminade College Prep) made a driving layup to trim the deficit to 16-13 at the 9:53 mark.

Following another stop by W&L, junior forward Nicholas George (Charleston, W. Va./Charleston Catholic) drained a triple to tie the game, 16-16. Kleinlein gave the Blue and White a two-point advantage (18-16) with a layup, and then Murtha made back-to-back layups to stretch the lead to six, 22-16, with seven minutes left in the half.

The Generals still led by six (29-23) five minutes later, and then a three-pointer by Kleinlein extended the margin to nine, 32-23. The Yellow Jackets answered with a three of their own, but Murtha scored five straight points to put W&L up 37-26 with 17 seconds left in the half. R-MC drained a triple with a second on the clock to close the gap to 37-29 at intermission.

W&L maintained a one-point margin (42-33) a minute and a half into the second, but stretched lead back to double figures with an 8-2 run. Kleinlein sunk two free throws to put the team up, 44-33, and a Wiencek jumper at the 16:33 mark pushed the advantage to 46-33. Senior forward Michael Taylor hit a pair of free throws, but Kleinlein answered with a three-pointer to put the Generals up 49-35. Wiencek capped the spurt with a free throw to give W&L a 50-35 lead with 15 minutes left in the contest.

The Blue and White maintained a double-digit lead until three free throws by junior guard Jermaine Johnson trimmed the deficit to 58-49 at the 8:41 mark. Williams brought R-MC to within seven (58-51) on a layup with 7:51 remaining, but sophomore guard Devin Kearns (Cibolo, Texas/Samuel Clemens) ended the run with a jumper at the 7:16 mark.

The Yellow Jackets were back within seven, 60-53, after the next possession, but W&L sealed the victory with a 6-0 spurt over the next three minutes to regain a 13-point advantage (66-53) with 3:59 on the clock. R-MC attempted to play the foul game down the stretch, but the Generals made enough free throws to close out the number two seed in the tournament.

Murtha led the Generals with 24 points and 10 rebounds on 9-of-13 from the floor. Kleinlein added 17 points, and Kearns had 15 points and five assists. Taylor led the Yellow Jackets with 19 points.

W&L held Randolph-Macon to 36.5 percent (23-of-63) from the floor, while connecting on 27-of-61 attempts (44.3 percent). Each team took care of the basketball, as the Generals had six turnovers and the Yellow Jackets committed just four.

The Generals have won five games in a row, which marks the longest winning streak since the 2010-11 season. W&L won five straight twice that campaign. The last time the Blue and White advanced to the semifinals of the ODAC Tournament was during the 2013-14 season.

The Generals next play on Saturday at 3:00 pm at the Salem Civic Center in the tournament semifinals. W&L faces the winner of third-seeded E&H and sixth-seeded Roanoke. Those teams play later on Thursday.

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