EMORY, Va. — The Washington and Lee men's basketball team shot just 35.6 percent (21-of-59) from the floor in a 75-59 loss at Emory & Henry on Wednesday evening.

The Generals (8-14, 4-9 ODAC) jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the opening four minutes on two three-pointers by sophomore guard Devin Kearns (Cibolo, Texas/Samuel Clemens) and a jumper by junior forward Clayton Murtha (Dallas, Texas/Highland Park). The Wasps (15-7, 9-4 ODAC) called a timeout to regroup, and the team responded with a 21-4 spurt over the next eight minutes of action to assume a 21-12 advantage.

During the run for the E&H, first-year guard Colin Molden scored nine points, while the Blue and White made just 2-of-11 shots from the floor. Kearns answered with four straight points to trim the deficit to 21-18 at the 6:14 mark, but the Wasps tallied 11 of the next 14 points to regain an 11-point lead (32-21) with 1:25 remaining in the half. Murtha and Kearns ended the period with back-to-back jumpers to close the gap to 32-25 at intermission.

E&H quickly pushed its advantage back to double-digits (41-30) in the first five minutes of the second stanza. But after a free throw by sophomore forward Roy McMillan (Raleigh, N.C./Broughton), Kearns drilled another three-pointer to bring W&L to within seven, 41-34, with 13:31 remaining in the game.

The Generals did not get any closer, as the Wasps scored the next seven points to stretch the lead back to double digits. E&H extended the advantage to as many as 19 points before reaching the final margin, 75-59. While the Blue and White struggled from the field, the Wasps shot 52.7 percent (29-of-55) from the floor.

Kearns led W&L with 18 points, making 4-of-6 from long range. He also had three rebounds, two assists and three steals. Murtha totaled 13 points and five rebounds. Sophomore forward Aaron Ferguson came off the bench for E&H to total 18 points. He went 8-of-10 from the floor and grabbed five rebounds. Molden notched 17 points and three steals.

The Generals host Roanoke on Saturday at 4:30 pm.

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