LEXINGTON, Va. – Senior
Robert DiSibio notched his fifth 30-point game of the season to lead the Washington and Lee men's basketball team to an 85-79 home win over Ferrum on Wednesday evening.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
After a
Drew Harrell layup opened the second-half scoring to give W&L (9-5, 3-2 ODAC) a 39-29 lead, the Panthers (13-3, 4-3 ODAC) clawed their back to even with a 22-12 run over the next 7:43 to tie the game at 51. Calvin Washington and Jikari Johnson led Ferrum with six points each in that span. Harrell then knocked in another layup, as the two sides began trading scores until a Tahli Oden three gave the Panthers a 60-59 lead with eight minutes left.
Both sides continued to trade blows, alternating leads for the next two minutes, before senior
Jack d'Entremont scored twice in the paint to cushion the W&L lead up to five points. Ferrum stayed within striking distance and threatened yet again after a Sterling Charles triple cut the Panthers' deficit to three points with 2:13 remaining.
On the ensuing possession, the Generals kept their chance to extend the lead alive with a pair of offensive boards, including a tip-out by Harrell to sophomore
John Loughlin, who missed a three-point shot but drew a foul. Loughlin calmly knocked down all three freebies, which helped the Generals outscore Ferrum, 8-5, over the final 1:39. The Panthers cut their deficit down to two one final time with just under a minute left, but DiSibio iced the win with four made foul shots in the final 12 seconds.
Ferrum's Calvin Washington opened the scoring on the first possession of the game, but the Generals scored the next 10 points across 2:02 of play to claim an eight-point lead. The team made all three of its shots during the run, two of which were threes, with four points from DiSibio and three each from Harrell and d'Entremont.
The first half was evenly matched afterwards, as both teams scored 27 points to put W&L ahead, 37-29, at the break. After the 10-2 Generals' lead, the Panthers made 10-of-23 from the field and the Blue and White connected on 11-of-25. Alfredo Abel-Rivera and Johnson led Ferrum with eight points apiece in the opening 20 minutes, and the Generals were paced by seven each from DiSibio and first-year
Parker Neuenhaus.
TOP PERFORMERS:
DiSibio led all scorers with 30 points as he made 8-of-16 shots from the field, including 3-of-5 from long range, as well as 11-of-12 at the free throw line. DiSibio added four rebounds and three assists on the night as well.
d'Entremont added 21 points and seven rebounds, plus three blocks and a steal. He made 8-of-13 shots overall and all four free throw attempts. Harrell came in next with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting, with seven rebounds and two steals, while Neuenhaus logged 11 points and five rebounds in 15 minutes. Sophomore
Colin Ryan dished out a career-high seven assists for the Generals' offense.
Johnson was Ferrum's top scorer at 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting and 4-of-6 from beyond the arc, while playing all 40 minutes. Washington finished with 16 points and five rebounds, Abel-Rivera tallied 15 points and nine boards, and Bryant Wall rounded out the double-digit scorers with 14.
NOTEWORTHY POINTS:
DiSibio's 30 points helped him close in on the next three players on the program's all-time scoring list. Now with 1,420 points in his career, DiSibio needs six points to pass Devin Kearns '19 for 13th place, nine points to pass Pat Dennis '78 for 12th and 22 points to pass John Lee Graves '84 for 11th.
In addition to his scoring, DiSibio's three made three-point field goals on Wednesday night moved him past Kevin Dennin '20 for fifth place in program history. DiSibio can pass Chris Halkitis '07 for fourth place with seven more.
Wednesday's win over Ferrum was the 99th in the career of W&L head coach
Chris McHugh '09, who can become the third coach in program history to reach triple digits with his next win.
TEAM STATS:
The Generals edged the Panthers in shooting percentage, and both teams had nearly identical marks in the 98-point second half. W&L finished at 50.0 percent (28-56) overall and 51.9 (14-27) in the second half to Ferrum's 46.9 percent (30-64) for the game and 51.4 percent (19-37) in the second half. The Panthers made one more three than the Blue and White (7-6), but the Generals outscored their counterparts, 23-12, at the free throw line.
Other advantage for W&L in the game came on points off turnovers (17-11), points in the paint (38-30) and fastbreak points (11-2), while Ferrum held the positive margins in second-chance points (14-11) and bench points (19-16).
UP NEXT:
The Generals will get back on the court on Saturday when they travel to Averett for a 2:00 p.m. tip-off with the Cougars.
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.
