HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, Va. – The Washington and Lee men's basketball team gave the No. 1-ranked team in Division III all it could handle on Saturday, but Hampden-Sydney edged the Generals by a 72-67 final.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Generals (8-5, 2-2 ODAC) were unfazed by the raucous crowd inside S. Douglas Fleet Gymnasium, as they opened with a 9-2 lead through 2:40 of play, which stretched to 21-7 by the 12:09 mark. Led by seven points from senior
Robert DiSibio in the early going, W&L hit on 6-of-11 shots to start the game, while holding the Tigers (12-1, 4-1 ODAC) to just 3-of-12 from the field.
HSC began to find its groove on the offensive end, as the Tigers roared back with a 15-3 run across the next 4:48 to cut their deficit to two points. W&L sophomore
A.J. Thomas then stepped into two three-point field goals to power an 8-4 run to calm things down. The Tigers closed the first half strong, scoring 7-of-11 points, but it was the Blue and White that took a 36-33 lead into the locker room.
The Tigers came out of the half with a 13-5 run to take a five-point edge, their first lead of the game. All five W&L points came from senior
Drew Harrell, with HSC's Adam Brazil pacing all players with seven in that span.
Over the final 15 minutes of the game, both teams slugged it out on both ends of the floor, with each side scoring 26 points to yield the final total. Both defenses limited the opposing offenses to no more than two straight scores without an answer, while the Tigers were unable to stretch their lead to more than seven points. The Generals had an opportunity late after a Harrell triple cut it to a three-point game with just under six seconds to play, but HSC successfully inbounded the ball to Ryan Clements who hit two free throws to seal the win.
TOP PERFORMERS:
DiSibio led all players with 19 points in the game, and he added six rebounds and four assists to his line. Senior
Jack d'Entremont scored an efficient 14 points (5-8 FG), pulled down seven rebounds and blocked two shots, while Harrell tallied 11 points, eight rebounds and two steals. Harrell connected on 2-of-5 long-range shots, including a deep heave that banked in at the end of the shot with just under 17 minutes left in regulation.
Brazil led the Tigers' offense with 17 points, but the Generals' defense held him to 7-of-20 shooting overall and 3-of-9 from three. Davidson Hubbard added 16 points and eight boards, and Clements notched nine points and six rebounds, with seven of his points coming from the foul line.
NOTEWORTHY POINTS:
d'Entremont's 14 points put him over 900 in his career, as he now sits 92 points away from becoming the 30th member of the program's 1,000-point club.
TEAM STATS:
The Generals shot 44.9 percent (22-49) from the field in the game, including 52.4 percent (11-21) in the first half. That included an even 50 percent (10-20) from deep in addition to a 13-of-19 game on free throws. HSC finished at 36.2 percent (25-69) shooting for the game, but struggled from three-point range (7-22), especially in the second half (2-11). The Tigers edged the Generals at the free throw line, as they made 15-of-21 (.714), including 13-of-19 in the second half.
W&L held a narrow 40-38 lead in total rebounds, but the Tigers grabbed 16 offensive rebounds to 10 allowed, which led to a 21-5 difference in second chance points. HSC also edged the Blue and White in points in the paint (32-24) and fastbreak points (7-4).
UP NEXT:
The Generals return home on Wednesday to host Ferrum at 7:00 p.m. in their next contest.
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.
