SAN ANTONIO, Texas – A 22-7 run from No. 22 Trinity (Texas) early in the second half proved to be the turning point in the game, as the Washington and Lee men's basketball team dropped a 78-70 decision to the Leslie Robinson Christmas Classic hosts on Wednesday.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
After a made jumper from senior
Drew Harrell opened the second-half scoring to give W&L (5-3) a 43-33 lead, the Tigers (10-0) scored six straight points on the front end of the 22-7 run to regain a 55-50 lead at the 12:26 mark. Jacob Harvey led the run for Trinity with 15 points, while the team held the Generals to 2-of-8 shooting and forced six turnovers.
Harrell continued to score for the Blue and White, powering an 8-3 spurt with five points himself to tie the game at 58 apiece with just over nine minutes left, but the Tigers responded with 10 consecutive points, part of a 13-2 overall run, to push back in front by 11 points with four minutes remaining in regulation.
The Generals managed to limit Trinity to just 1-of-4 shooting from that point until the final buzzer, but the Tigers sank 5-of-5 foul shots in the final minute to hold off the Generals.
W&L had the hot hand early in the contest, connecting on six of its first seven shots to open with a 15-9 advantage through four and a half minutes of play. The Tigers caught up and pulled ahead by a 28-25 margin following a 19-10 run, but the Generals roared back with 14 straight points on another 6-of-7 shooting stretch to hold a 39-28 lead with 4:22 left in the half. First-year
Parker Neuenhaus led the way with six points during that run.
The Tigers then cut their deficit to eight before the half by limiting W&L to just 1-of-4 shooting over the final four and a half minutes.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Senior
Jack d'Entremont paced the Generals with 20 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two blocks, while shooting 9-of-14 from the field. Harrell came in close behind d'Entremont with 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting, while Neuenhaus contributed 15 points and five boards, and he shot 6-of-9 from the field. Harrell led the defense with three steals and sophomore
John Loughlin tallied a pair of thefts.
Harvey finished with a game-high 23 points for the Tigers, which came on 6-of-18 shooting and 4-of-11 from long range. Tanner Brown scored 16 points and Jacob Millhouse rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11. Braxton Barry pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds, five of which came on the offensive glass.
TEAM STATS:
The Generals finished the game shooting 47.5 percent (28-59) from the field, which included a mark of 63 percent (17-27) in the first half. They also made 8-of-23 three-point shots (.348) and 6-of-7 free throws (.857). Despite shooting 27 percent (10-37) in the first half, the Tigers ended the game with a mark of 32.4 percent (24-74) from the floor, including 11-of-36 (.306) from long range and 19-of-24 (.792) from the free throw line.
The Tigers held the rebounding advantage at 46-38, as well as second chance points (11-2) and fastbreak points (22-2). W&L owned the edge in points in the paint at 32-26.
UP NEXT:
The Generals will face-off against St. Thomas (Texas) on Thursday in the second day of the Leslie Robinson Christmas Classic. Tip-off is slated for 2:00 p.m. ET/1:00 p.m. CT.
Nestled in the mountains of Virginia, Washington and Lee University is a proud member of NCAA Division III and the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Founded in 1749, W&L is the ninth-oldest college in the United States and a top-ranked liberal arts university. With over 500 student-athletes in 24 varsity sports, the Generals have celebrated over 265 conference championships. Learn more about the Blue and White by visiting www.generalssports.com or on social media at @WLUGenerals.
