90
Winner Wash. & Lee WLU 12-6,5-4 ODAC
89
Ferrum FC 8-9,4-4 ODAC
Winner
Wash. & Lee WLU
12-6,5-4 ODAC
90
Final
89
Ferrum FC
8-9,4-4 ODAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Wash. & Lee WLU 37 53 90
Ferrum FC 45 44 89
MBB Team 22-23
Sideline Media

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men's Basketball Claws Back From Behind at Ferrum

W&L rallies back from a 21-point deficit to win 90-89

FERRUM, Va. - The Washington and Lee University men's basketball team rallied back from a 21-point deficit to defeat Ferrum 90-89 in the waning moments of Wednesday night's ODAC road matchup. 

In the second half, the Generals (12-6, 5-4 ODAC) shot above 50 percent in all three facets, from the floor, behind the arc and on the strip, to overtake the Panthers (8-9, 4-4). After W&L scored the final ten points of the night, Chris McHugh's squad went on to win its fourth straight ODAC contest. 

The Blue and White trailed 88-81 with 54 seconds left in regulation. Drew Harrell (Collingswood, N.J. / PAul VI) started the 10-point run with a pair of made bonus free throws. After he drained his two opportunities from the line, Harrell forced a turnover and scored off the fast break to cut the deficit down to four points with 37 seconds to go. 

The squads swapped ball handling turnovers but neither team was able to capitalize until Robert DiSibio (Sandy Hook, Conn. / Newtown) trimmed Ferrum's lead down to one with his step-back jumper behind the arc. 

On the ensuing inbound play, Jack Lewis (Rockville, Md. / Sidwell Friends) broke up the pass to regain possession for the Generals. Sam Wise (Winchester, Va. / Handley) drove to the basket and was fouled on the way up. The senior came in clutch and hit both free throw attempts to put the Blue and White on top 90-89.  

Ferrum's last shot was off-target to end the contest in regulation. Tonight's win marked the sixth straight victory against the Panthers for W&L. 

Prior to the comeback victory W&L led early, an 8-3 advantage at the 17:41 mark and held the lead until 10:48,  21-18. However, over the last eight and a half minutes of play in the opening stanza, FC outscored the Generals 24-16 from a 21-21 stalemate at 10:35. 

During the stretch, Ferrum drained 9-of-14 from the field including four three-pointers and only turned the ball over one time to take full advantage of the possessions. On the other end of the court, the Blue and White shot 6-of-14 and went cold from behind the arc in the process. Ferrum went into their locker room with a 45-37 lead over the Generals

Out of the break, Ferrum continued to pull away from the visitors. Over the opening seven minutes, FC shot 75 percent (9-of-12) and 83 percent from the long distance (5-of-6). During that time frame, W&L kept pace with their shooting efficiency but gave the ball away on five occasions over the 25-13 run which allowed FC to grow their lead to as many as 21 points (15:07 2nd, 63-42).

The Generals offense was steady the rest of the way and ended the night by outscoring Ferrum 28-14. During the rally, the visitors shot 9-of-14 with five three's and a perfect 5-of-5 from the FT line. The Blue and White registered four steals and limited FC to seven scoring attempts, just four of those shots produced points. 

 DiSibio led the comeback with 13 of his 16 points falling in the final seven minutes. Harrell and Wise split eight points and Richie Manigault (Stewartsville, N.J. / Phillipsburg), Jack d'Entremont (Bryn Mawr, Pa. Radnor) and Lewis (Rockville, Md. / Sidwell Friends) combined for the remainder. 

Wise finished with a team-high 18 points in 34 minutes, five other Generals finished in double figures: Disibio (16), Harrell (15), Manigault (14), d'Entremont (14) and Lewis (11).

D'entremont, Harrell, Manigault and Wise evenly split 28 of W&L's 44 rebounds and the team owned 44-18 rebounds advantage. The Generals put back 12 second chance points on the scoreboard and recorded 12 assists and nine steals on the defensive end. 

The Panthers' DeShone Hicks and Johnny Franklin tallied 23 and 21 points, respectively and Hicks dished out 11 assists. 

The Blue and White return to Holekamp Gym on Saturday, January 21. The 4:30 p.m. tipoff against the University of Lynchburg will feature a halftime recognition of the program's alumni.

 
-Generalssports.com-

 
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