LEXINGTON, Va. - The Washington and Lee University men's basketball team dropped a double-overtime loss to No. 20 University of Mary Washington on Friday evening in the 2022 W&L Holiday Tournament championship game.
The Generals (8-5) jumped out to a quick 9-0 lead to open up the title contest but the Eagles (11-2) overcame a 20-point W&L lead after two extra periods in the 103-95 2OT thriller.
UMW began to chip away at the deficit at the 3:21 mark in the first. Over the next 13:45, the Eagles used a 36-16 run to tie up the contest, 54-54 at 9:36 in the second stanza.
During that span, the tournament's MVP Greg Rowson scored 13 points and fellow all-tournament honoree, Da'Shawn Cook added eight.
Mary Washington halted the Generals' march by forcing seven turnovers and weak shot selection (4-of-14 from the floor) to claw back into contention.
On the next two scoring possessions, the Blue and White answered with a pair of and-one plays from juniors Jack d'Entremont (Bryn Mawr, Pa. / Radnor) and Drew Harrell (Collingswood, N.J. / Paul VI). The two teams would close out regulation with seven lead changes over the final nine minutes.
The Generals finished the 40 minutes out with an 11-8 run, Richie Manigault (Stewartsville, N.J. / Phillipsburg) drained eight of those points including two from long range. Jack Lewis added a three, the last WLU basket in regulation at 1:30, to put the home team up 73-71. The next 1:18 were scoreless but with 12 seconds on the clock Rowson slammed down a dunk to force an extra period of play.
Over the next five minutes, the two squads matched baskets until time expired, the scoreboard was locked at 88-88.
In the final OT stanza, the Eagles visited the free throw line 11 times and the visitors were perfect from the charity stripe to outscore W&L 15-7 and steal the 103-95 victory.
Robert DiSibio (Sandy Hook, Conn. / Newtown), who was named to the W&L Holiday All-tournament Team, paced the Generals with 26 points and 10 rebounds, all on the defensive end, for a double-double.
Lewis, d'Entremont, Harrell and Manigault reached double digits in points. Lewis put on his season-best performance with 18 points (7-of-10), four three-pointers, a pair of blocks and three steals. He added four rebounds and an assist to his line.
The Friday night result marks the third loss to a ranked team following the one-point OT loss to then No.4 Christopher Newport and to No. 3 Randolph-Macon.
The Generals will be on the road next week for a pair of conference games. On Wednesday, January 4 the team will travel to Guilford College for a 7 p.m. tipoff and to Averett on Saturday, January 7 for a 4:30 start.
All Tournament Team
Vassar College - Avni Mustafaj
The College of New Jersey - Nick Koch
Washington and Lee - Robert DiSibio
University of Mary Washington - Da'Shawn Cook
University of Mary Washington - Greg Rowson (MVP)
--Generalssports.com--
