LEXINGTON, Va. – Senior
Robert DiSibio scored six of his game-high 27 points during a 21-8, second-half run to propel the Washington and Lee men's basketball game past Franklin & Marshall, 75-70, on Friday on the first day of the W&L Holiday Tournament.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
With the Generals (6-4) leading by a point at the start of the second half, the Diplomats (7-2) opened the new period on a 16-7 run to flip the lead in their favor, 54-46. DiSibio then nailed three-point jumpers on back-to-back possessions to begin a 21-8 run to get W&L back in front by five points with eight minutes left. The Generals shot 7-of-10 from the floor during the run, including 3-of-5 from long range, while holding the Diplomats to 2-of-9.
Over the final eight minutes of the game, both defenses clamped down on the opposing offenses, as each side tallied just eight points. The Diplomats managed to cut their deficit to one point as late as 50 seconds left, before the win was iced with two free throws each from senior
Jack d'Entremont and first-year
Parker Neuenhaus in the final 22 seconds.
W&L opened the contest with a 15-9 lead through the first six minutes of play, led by five points from senior
Drew Harrell. F&M got it back to a one-point game soon after, but the Generals extended their lead to a first-half-high seven points with an 8-2 run over the next 3:04. The Diplomats managed to head to halftime down just one point after scoring the home side, 22-16, over the final 9:29, as both teams traded blows, shooting 50 percent from the floor apiece in that stretch.
TOP PERFORMERS:
DiSibio paced the Blue and White offense with 27 points on 5-of-10 shooting, which included 2-of-3 from beyond the arc and 15-of-17 from the free throw line to set new career highs in free throws made and attempted in a game. DiSibio added 11 boards for a double-double plus three assists. d'Entremont came in next with 17 points and nine rebounds to go along with two blocks and three steals. d'Entremont also scored efficiently in the game, making 5-of-8 shot attempts, 2-of-2 from three-point range and 5-of-6 from the line.
Sophomore
John Loughlin chipped in nine points on 3-of-6 shooting, all from deep, while Neuenhaus finished with eight points on 3-of-5 shooting. Loughlin was another key piece during W&L's 21-8 second-half run with six points.
The Diplomats' offense was led by four players in double figures, with Vakaris Grauslys scoring a team-high 18. Omar Nichols ended the game with 17 points, followed by 13 from Josh Parra and 11 from Kevin Nowoswiat. Nowoswiat tied DiSibio for the game high with 11 rebounds, while Grauslys came away with four steals on the defensive end.
NOTEWORTHY POINTS:
While his 27 points did not move him up the program's all-time scoring list, DiSibio did become the 15th player in program history to reach 1,300 points scored. Now with 1,318, DiSibio can move past Brian Hanson '83 for 14th place with 21 more points.
Additionally, DiSibio passed Roy McMillan '19 (151) for the sixth-most three-point field goals made in program history. He needs nine more to pass Kevin Dennin '20 (160) for fifth place.
DiSibio's 15-of-17 performance from the free throw line is the best by a W&L men's basketball player in quite some time. His 17 attempts are the most since Clayton Murtha '18 took 17 against Hampden-Sydney on February 18, 2017, while DiSibio's 15 makes from the line are the most since Murtha knocked down 15 against HSC on January 28, 2015.
TEAM STATS:
The Generals ended the game shooting 46.8 percent (22-47) from the field, including over 45 percent in both halves. W&L connected on 8-of-15 (.533) shots from three-point range and 23-of-29 at the free throw line. Their 47 field goal attempts were the fewest in a game since taking 47 shots against Randolph-Macon on December 3 of last season, a game in which they also went 23-of-29 on free throws. The 47 field goal attempts are the fewest in a winning effort for the Generals since needing just 45 to defeat St. Mary's (Md.), 85-70, on December 30, 2016, in that season's Holiday Tournament Championship.
The Diplomats shot 39.1 percent (27-69) from the field after being limited to 31.3 percent (10-32) in the second half. They also struggled from long range (0.185, 5-27) and at the free throw line (0.458, 11-24).
W&L finished with the advantage in bench points (13-4) and fastbreak points (11-2), while F&M led in points off turnovers (17-11) and second-chance points (19-3).
UP NEXT:
The Generals will play for the W&L Holiday Tournament Championship on Saturday at 4:00 pm against Denison.
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.
