SALEM, Va. — Senior forward Curtis Mitchell (Chevy Chase, Md./Georgetown Prep) totaled 22 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks, but the Washington and Lee men's basketball team dropped its season-opening game at Roanoke, 78-68, on Thursday at the Cregger Center.  
 
The Generals (0-1, 0-1 ODAC) trailed by 14 points, 28-14, with 9:50 left in the first, but then used a 19-9 run over the next five minutes to close the gap to four (37-33). During the spurt, sophomore guard Richie Manigault (Stewartsville, N.J./Phillipsburg) totaled eight points, including two three-pointers, and Mitchell added five points.
 
Over the final five minutes of the period, the Maroons (6-1, 5-0 ODAC) outscored W&L, 9-3, led by four points from sophomore guard Kasey Draper, to take a 10-point advantage (46-36) into the break.
 
Roanoke started the second half with 10 straight points, capped on a layup by sophomore guard Efosa Edosomwan, to extend its lead to 56-36 with 16:03 left in the game. The Blue and White responded over the next 10 minutes and trimmed the deficit to nine (69-60) on a bucket by Mitchell with 5:28 on the clock.
 
Neither team converted on offense over the next few minutes, until a dunk by Mitchell with 3:11 remaining pulled the Generals to within seven, 69-62. The Maroons defense tightened over the final three minutes, holding W&L to just six points, while adding nine to their total, as they held on for the 10-point victory.

Mitchell was 7-of-15 from the floor and 8-of-11 from the line to record his team-high 22 points. Manigault finished with 17 points and five rebounds.
 
Senior forward William Brueggeman (Houston, Texas/Strake Jesuit College Prep) scored four points to push his career total to 967. He needs just 33 more points to become the 28th player in program history to reach 1,000.
 
Draper registered a career-high 31 points for Roanoke on 9-of-13 from the floor and 12-of-14 from the free throw line. Junior guard Tripp Greene added 18 points and five assists.
 
W&L shot 36.1 percent (22-of-61) from the floor, 24.2 percent (8-of-33) from long range and 64.0 percent (16-of-25) from the stripe, while Roanoke was 25-of-56 (44.6 percent) from the field, 7-of-21 (33.3 percent) from beyond the arc and 21-of-28 (75.0 percent) from the foul line.
 
The Blue and White turned the ball over 15 times, leading to 21 points for the Maroons, while Roanoke had 11 turnovers leading to six points for W&L.
 
The Generals return to action on Saturday with their home opener and first ever game in Holekamp Gym against Lynchburg at 2:00 pm.