LEXINGTON, Va. - The Washington and Lee University men's basketball team defeated Bridgewater College 87-82 on Wednesday night to extend their winning streak to six games.
The Eagles (9-9, 4-5 ODAC) battled back from a pair of 15-point deficits down to a one-point game in each half but the Generals (14-6, 7-4) withstood BC's scoring surges and closed out the frame with nine makes from the free throw line for a conference victory.
W&L bounced back from a late first half scoring lul that carried into the next. Sam Wise (Winchester, Va. / Handley) jumper at 9:46 put the home team back on top by 15 points, 66-51. BC then dished out a 10-0 run and brought momentum back on its side. With just under five minutes left on the clock, the Eagles came within one point after four consecutive free throw makes.
The Blue and White ended the night with a 17-8 spurt to secure the conference tilt. The run, which included 12 makes from the charity stripe was cut down to a five-point win after Bridgewater's Conor Ballou drained a three-pointer as time expired for a final score of 87-82.
The opening half featured a similar story, the Generals ran up the score 24-9 over the first eight minutes but an 11-0 run cut the W&L lead down to four points with 8:35 left in the first stanza.
BC briefly took the lead off an Alec Topper basket from long range which put the Eagles ahead 37-35. The squads traded makes and Drew Harrell (Collingswood, N.J. / Paul VI) was the last to score on a wide open '3' for the halftime advantage.
The Blue and White had six scorers in double digits: Robert DiSibio (16) Sam Wise (15), Richie Manigault (15), Jack Lewis (15), Jack d'Entremont (13) and Drew Harrell (11).
Defensively, the home team recorded eight blocks and six steals, d'Entremont stopped three shots and Harrell had two blocks with a pair of steals. On the other end, Wise dished out five assists and d'Entremont and DiSibio each added four.
Both teams were exceptional from the line, Bridgewater was a perfect 14-of-14 and WLU was 18-of-20.
W&L barely edged BC in rebounds 39-36 but the Eagles took advantage of several WLU miscues and ended up scoring 22 points off 21 turnovers, over half of those were forced turnovers and resulted in steals.
Landon Hawes recorded the game-high 19 points for the Eagles and Topper's night concluded with 15 points and 13 rebounds.
The Generals have a mid-season bye Saturday and will return to action on February 1 at Randolph College.
-generalssport.com-
