LEXINGTON, Va. — The Washington and Lee men's basketball team had six players in double figures and scored 63 points in the first half, as it handled Whittier on Friday, 116-71, at the Duchossois Tennis Center.
 
The Generals (3-2) scored the first nine points of the contest in just 1:34 of action, and had pushed the lead to 17-4 by the 16:41 mark of the half. Junior forward William Brueggeman (Houston, Texas Strake/Jesuit College Prep) keyed the run with eight points, while the Blue and White's defense forced five turnovers by the Poets (1-2).
 
Whittier trimmed the deficit to 10 (22-12) with 14:09 left in the half, but then W&L scored 13 straight points, capped on a layup by junior forward Curtis Mitchell (Chevy Chase, Md./Georgetown Prep) to assume a 35-12 advantage with 11:22 on the clock.
 
A layup by junior guard Ahmad Young temporarily stopped the onslaught, but then the Generals responded with a 13-4 burst to extend the margin to 30, 48-18, with 7:07 still to go in the period. W&L pushed the lead up to as high as 35 in the half and settled for a 63-35 lead at the break.
 
The second half proved to be similar to the first, as the Blue and White notched 14 of the first 17 points of the stanza to stretch the advantage to 39 (75-36) with 16:26 to go in the contest. The Generals cruised the rest of the game, pushing the margin to as large as 52 en route to the 45-point victory.
 
Brueggeman led all scorers with 24 points and eight rebounds in just 18 minutes of action. He ended the night 9-of-14 from the field. First-year Jack Lewis (Rockville, Md./Sidwell Friends) totaled a season-best 17 points, while Mitchell recorded 14 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three blocks in 20 minutes.
 
First-year guard Richie Manigault (Stewartsville, N.J./Phillipsburg) registered 14 points and three rebounds, sophomore guard Mark Lamendola (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mount Lebanon) tallied 12 points and four steals and sophomore forward Gus Wise (Winchester, Va./John Handley) contributed a career-best 11 points and nine rebounds.
 
This marks the second time in a calendar year the Blue and White have had six players in double figures. The team also had six in a win at Randolph on February 23, 2019.
 
W&L knocked down a season-high 15 triples (15-of-38, 39.5 percent), and outrebounded the Poets, 52-42. Whittier committed 29 turnovers, while the Generals had 20. W&L totaled 15 steals and six blocks, as the team held the Poets to just 32.9 percent (24-of-73) from the field. The Blue and White shot 48.6 percent (36-of-74) from the floor.
 
The 116 points are the most for the Generals since scoring a program-record 126 against Mary Washington on January 9, 1995. It is the forth-most points in program history and the most since a 119-72 victory over Bridgewater on December 1, 1954. The 45-point win is the largest since a 115-48 victory (67 points) over N.Y. Maritime on January 8, 1988.

Young led Whittier with 12 points and seven rebounds. Senior forward Kenyatta Louder totaled 11 points and four rebounds.
 
W&L returns to action on Tuesday at Southern Virginia at 5:00 pm.