SALEM, Va. - The Washington and Lee University men's basketball team's conference tournament concluded with a 117-103 loss in quadruple-overtime in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference quarterfinals against fifth-seeded Roanoke College.
Despite a 46-point performance from Robert DiSibio (Sandy Hook, Conn. / Newtown), the Generals (18-7) were outscored by the Maroons (19-6) in what proved to be the final OT period after a stalemate in the previous three stanzas of extra time and regulation.
DiSibio broke the ODAC Tournament single-game record with his 46 points over 55 minutes of action, while Roanoke's Kasey Draper tallied 40, fifth most in tournament history. Tonight's contest was the first ODAC Tournament game to feature a pair of 40-point scorers and it was the first 4OT game since 1988. The contest boasted an additional conference tournament first - Edosa U-Edosomwan recorded a triple-double with 24 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists.
RC opened up the fourth OT period on a 9-0 slant and forced the Generals' hand to foul the Maroons in the final minute. Roanoke finished with a 7-0 streak, all from the charity stripe, to break the stalemate and outscored the Generals 20-6 to advance into the semifinal matchup against top-seeded and nationally-ranked Randolph-Macon College on Saturday.
During regulation, the Blue and White needed to play catchup after the fifth seed fell behind by as many as 12 points in the opening half. W&L went into the locker room with a nine point deficit at the break, 46-37, but clawed its way out of the hole with a 15-2 run late in the second period.
During that streak, Richie Manigault (Stewartsville, N.J. / Phillipsburg) drove into the lane for a layup and tied the game up at 64 each. Then, Sam Wise (Winchester, Va. / Handley) gave the Generals their first lead of the night with a free throw, 65-64. Draper stopped the streak with 5:07 left in regulation, but another 6-0 run put W&L ahead 71-66.
Roanoke ended regulation with three triples at the 3:24, 1:44, and 0:36 marks. Draper had the final two field goals in regulation for Roanoke, his first reclaimed the lead for Roanoke and his second was the equalizer after W&L pulled away 75-72.
The two team's traded baskets through the first, second and third OT period. DiSibio found Jack Lewis (Rockville, Md. / Sidwell Friends) when he curled off the elbow for an open layup that forced the second overtime. Manigault and DiSibio tied up the game at 90-90 to push into the third OT. Disibio then hit a three with ten seconds remaining to force the decisive period.
DiSibio's historic performance came with a stat line of 15-of-29 (51.7 percent) from the field, 4-of-10 (40 percent) from long range, 12-of-14 (85.7 percent) from the stripe plus 16 rebounds. His 15 made field goals put him tied for second-most FG in a tournament game.
Lewis added 19 points in 50 minutes of action and recorded a double-double with 10 grabbed boards. Drew Harrell (Collingswood, N.J. / Paul VI) was third in team scoring with 15 points - he also recorded two blocks and a steal with 14 rebounds.
Manigault grabbed 10 rebounds off the glass and added eight points. Wise pulled in seven boards and dished out a team-best eight assists.
Tripp Greene (25 points) and Joshua McClary (21 points) joined Draper and U-Edosomwan on the list of Roanoke players who tallied 20 or more points during the quarterfinal matchup.
The NCAA will announce the 2023 DIII post-season bracket and pairings on Monday, February 27, at NCAA.com.
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