LEXINGTON, Va. – Junior
Robert DiSibio (Sandy Hook, Conn. / Newtown) tallied a game-high 32 points, but a late Virginia Wesleyan run handed the Washington and Lee men's basketball team an 84-72 home loss on Saturday afternoon.
Trailing by three entering the second half, W&L (15-7, 8-5 ODAC) gained two-points worth of ground through the first five minutes of the second half to cut their deficit to just one point. The Marlins (14-7, 6-7 ODAC) tried to pull away with six straight points, but were answered by a quick 6-0 spurt from W&L. Over nearly the next six minutes of play, the Generals kept the game within as many as five points, and even came back within two points at 5:06 following a good layup from senior
Richie Manigault (Stewartsville, N.J. / Phillipsburg) and a free throw from senior
Sam Wise (Winchester, Va. / John Handley).
From that point forward, however, the Marlins did not allow consecutive scores from the Blue and White, and outscored the Generals, 18-8, over the final 4:41 to claim the 12-point win.
After W&L opened the game with the first four points, the Marlins struck for nine straight for an early 9-4 lead. The Generals then scored seven consecutive points before another eight in a row from VWU to take a 17-11 lead at the 13:02 mark. The Marlins' Khai Seargeant was a driving force early with eight points.
The teams then alternated three buckets each, before W&L's longest run of the opening frame, a mark of 12-0, which was led by seven from DiSibio. Over the final four minutes, however, the Marlins outscored the Generals, 15-7, including eight points from Omari Deveaux, to take a 40-37 lead into halftime.
DiSibio led all scorers with 32 points, with 18 in the first half, for his third 30-point game of the season and the fourth of his career. In doing so, DiSibio now sits just 38 points away from becoming the 28th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point mark. DiSibio shot 10-of-23 from the floor and made 10-of-11 free throws, while adding six rebounds and three assists on the day.
Wise finished the contest with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting overall, and he also dished out five assists to tie senior
Jack d'Entremont (Bryn Mawr, Pa. / Radnor) for the team high. Manigault totaled 10 points and junior
Drew Harrell (Collingswood, N.J. / Paul VI) pulled down a game- and career-high 11 rebounds.
The Marlins were led on offense by Seargeant, who scored 27 points on 9-of-17 shooting, including 15 points in the second half. Amarion Wilson tallied a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double on 4-of-6 from the field and 4-for-5 from the foul line. Deveaux notched 17 points followed by 15 points and eight boards from Jordan Crump. All of Crump's points came from beyond the arc, as he connected on 5-of-8 three-point attempts.
Both teams shot nearly the same field goal percentage in the game, with the Marlins edging the Generals 41.5 percent (27-65) to 41.3 percent (26-64). VWU pulled away in scoring with 11 made triples to eight for W&L and a 19-12 advantage in made free throws. The Marlins' bench also held a 37-8 margin for the game.
The Generals' next game marks their final road contest of the regular season, when they tip-off at 7:30 pm on Wednesday against the Bridgewater Eagles.
