LEXINGTON, Va. – The Washington and Lee men's basketball team used a big second-half run, and scored 37 points over the final 14 minutes of play, to overcome a 10-point deficit and defeat Randolph, 82-77, on Wednesday night.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Generals (11-7, 5-4 ODAC) opened the game with a 17-7 lead through nearly nine minutes of play, as the Blue and White held the WildCats (7-12, 1-9 ODAC) to just 3-of-16 shooting from the field in the early going. Offensively, senior
Drew Harrell led all scorers with six points in the first nine minutes, with the 17-7 run ending in an
A.J. Thomas triple.
Both sides then exchanged four points each, before Randolph hit four of its next five shots for 10 straight points during an overall 12-1 run. W&L recovered with buckets from seniors
Robert DiSibio and
Jack d'Entremont, but Randolph answered with three consecutive threes to move out in front by eight points with two and half minutes left. The Generals closed the first half strongly, however, with eight of the final 10 points to cut their deficit to 36-34 at the break.
The WildCats kept up the intensity over the first six minutes of the second half, outscoring W&L 19-11 to stretch their lead to a game-high 10 points (55-45). That's when the Generals began to turn things around, as DiSibio nailed a three to jumpstart a 7-0 run, which turned into an overall 23-6 span across the next five and a half minutes. W&L caught fire during the run, making 6-of-7 shots from the field, which included 5-of-6 from beyond the arc, to flip the game into a seven-point advantage.
Despite outscoring the home side, 16-14, across the final 7:53, W&L's 23-6 run proved to be too deflating for the WildCats, as the Generals did not allow consecutive scores the rest of the way to seal the win.
TOP PERFORMERS:
DiSibio led all players with 26 points, and he scored a W&L-high eight during the second-half run. Overall, DiSibio made 10-of-16 shots from the floor and added six rebounds, three assists and two steals. Harrell, who chipped in six points during the 23-6 run, tied two career highs on the night, as he finished with 20 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
d'Entremont tallied an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double, and sophomore
Colin Ryan dished out a team-high four assists.
The WildCats were led by a trio of double-digit point scorers, paced by Evan Wiehe, who tallied 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting and 5-of-9 from outside. Moustapha Diop and Landon Wagoner both scored 15, and they combined to go 12-for-17 from the field and 4-for-7 from long distance. Wagoner led Randolph with six rebounds, while Cole Perry came away with a game-high four steals.
NOTEWORTHY POINTS:
DiSibio's game-high 26 points leaves him needing just 10 more to become the 11th player in program history to reach 1,500 career points scored. DiSibio can move into the program's Top 10 for points scored with 18 more (1,508) to surpass Cam Dyer '96.
Additionally, DiSibio made a pair of three-point baskets in the game to tie Chris Halkitis '07 for fourth place in program history (167). One more would then tie William Brueggeman '21 for third most.
d'Entremont's quest for the 1,000-point club continued, as his 11 points on Wednesday leaves him needing 22 to get to quadruple digits.
TEAM STATS:
W&L finished the evening shooting 46.0 percent (29-63) from the field, which was helped by an even 50 percent (15-30) in the second half. The team stepped up its three-point shooting in the second half, going 6-of-15 after making just one in the first half. The Generals also held big advantages in both free throws made (17-4) and attempted (28-5) over the Cats.
The WildCats made 42.3 percent (30-71) of their shots in the game including 40.6 percent (13-32) from three-point land.
Other team statistical categories that favored the Blue and White included second-chance points (18-4), fastbreak points (19-13) and points in the paint (40-26), while Randolph held the edges in points off turnovers (29-7) and bench points (42-10).
UP NEXT:
The Generals will return to action on Saturday when they wrap up a three-game homestand with a 2:00 p.m. tip-off against Virginia Wesleyan.
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.
