LYNCHBURG, Va. — The Washington and Lee men's basketball team ended the game on a 19-10 run over the final eight minutes to pull out an 84-80 win at Lynchburg on Saturday in ODAC action.
 
The Generals (14-4, 6-3 ODAC) built an 11-point lead (53-42 by halftime by shooting 60.0 percent (21-of-35) from the field and 64.3 percent (9-of-14) from long range. The Hornets (12-6, 7-2 ODAC) answered in the second, outscoring the Blue and White, 28-12, in the first 12 minutes of the final period to assume a 70-65 lead with 7:48 remaining in the contest.
 
Junior forward William Brueggeman (Houston, Texas/Strake Jesuit College Prep) then tallied four straight points over the next minute and a half, and first-year guard Sam Wise (Winchester, Va./John Handley) was sent to the line and made both to give W&L a 70-69 edge with 6:30 left on the clock.
 
The game was tied (72-72) as the clock ticked under five minutes, but then Brueggeman drained two free throws to put the Generals in front, 74-72. After a couple of empty possessions by both teams, Brueggeman netted the team's first three-pointer of the second half at the 3:39 mark to stretch the margin to 77-72.
 
A pair of free throws by Lynchburg cut the lead to three, but Brueggeman drilled a second triple to push the advantage to 80-74 with 3:10 remaining in the game.
 
A layup by senior guard Chance Greene brought the Hornets to within four with 2:24 in the contest, and then each team came up empty over the next minute of play. Then a bucket by senior forward Cody Lang trimmed the lead to 80-78 at the 1:06 mark.
 
On the Blue and White's possession, a jump ball was called with five seconds left on the shot clock. Head Coach Chris McHugh called a timeout, and out of the break with the ball under the basket, Wise bounced a pass to junior forward Curtis Mitchell (Chevy Chase, Md./Georgetown Prep) in the center of the paint for an open layup to put W&L in front, 82-78, with 37 seconds to go in the contest.
 
Lynchburg quickly pushed the ball up the court, as junior forward T.C. Thacker scored with 26 ticks on the clock. Senior guard Kevin Dennin (Severna Park, Md./Severn School) was fouled on the ensuing in-bounds pass and calmly went to the line and sunk two free throws. Lynchburg got off three shots in the final 25 seconds, but failed to convert with W&L pulling out the four-point win.
 
Sophomore guard Mark Lamendola (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mount Lebanon) led the team in scoring with 19 points, while grabbing four rebounds. Brueggeman finished with 18 points (16 in the second half) and four rebounds, and Dennin had 17 points and five boards.
 
Mitchell nearly had a triple double with nine points, nine rebounds and seven assists to go with five blocks. He now has 47 blocks this season which is the seventh-highest total in a single-season in program history.
 
W&L ended the game shooting 49.2 percent (31-of-63) from the floor and 40.7 percent (11-of-27) from beyond the arc. Lynchburg was held to 39.7 percent (29-of-73) from the field and 30.0 percent (6-of-20) from long range.
 
The Blue and White has won nine of its last 10 games dating back to December 16. This is the best record through 18 games for W&L since the 1988-89 team went 15-3 to start that campaign.
 
The Generals next play at Emory & Henry on Wednesday at 7:00 pm.