LEXINGTON, Va. – The Washington and Lee men's basketball team rallied from eight points down in the second half to take a lead, but ultimately fell by a final score of 83-76 to Mary Baldwin in the 2024-25 home opener on Wednesday night.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
With W&L (1-2) leading, 37-34, at the start of the second half, the Generals extended their lead to eight points behind five points from junior
John Loughlin. The Fighting Squirrels locked in, however, for a 21-5 run in response, led by 16 points from Zach Sloan, to take turn their eight-point deficit into an eight-point lead with 11 and a half minutes left to play.
W&L fought its way back to regain a two-point lead with six minutes left on an 18-8 run, a stretch in which first-year
Connor Amorosi took charge with 10 points. However, for the remainder of the game, Mary Baldwin outscored the hosts 18-9 on 4-of-6 shooting from the floor and 9-of-10 at the foul line, while limiting W&L to 3-for-9 shooting and three turnovers.
Both sides scored seven points through the first three minutes of play on better than 60 percent shooting apiece, before the Generals made the first run of the game, 12-0, to take a 19-7 lead at the 14:57 mark. Loughlin led the run with six points on a pair of triples, as the Generals shot 5-of-5 during the stretch.
The W&L lead grew to 13 points across the next four minutes, before an 18-7 run from Mary Baldwin pulled the Fighting Squirrels back to within two points (31-29) with two minutes to play. Sloan paced the visitors with nine points during that run, and he scored 12 points total over the final 11 minutes of the half, but W&L held onto a three-point lead heading into the break.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Loughlin and junior
Colin Ryan led four Generals in double figures on the night, as both scored 14 on a combined 11-of-20 shooting from the floor. Loughlin made 4-of-5 three-point shots, pulled down six rebounds and had four assists, while Ryan notched a double-double with 13 rebounds and six dimes to go along with it. Amorosi ended the night with 13 points and five rebounds, while first-year
Joe Rhyne tallied 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting and 3-of-4 from deep.
Sloan finished as the game's high scorer with 32 points on 13-of-28 shooting and 6-of-13 from three-point land. He also came away with eight rebounds, four assists and four steals. Quentin Hart scored 15 points, Jaden Ignacio had 14 points, five rebounds and six assists, and Raymond Benton led the rebounding efforts with nine.
TEAM STATS:
W&L shot efficiently on the night, converting 28-of-57 (.491) shots from the floor and 11-of-22 (.500) from deep, while holding Mary Baldwin to 38 percent (30-79) overall and 28.9 percent (11-38) on threes. The Fighting Squirrels, however, made up ground through the turnover battle, as they forced 20 W&L turnovers, committed just six, and outscored the Blue and White 23-7 off turnovers.
The Fighting Squirrels also held a 16-9 edge in offensive rebounds, leading to a 12-6 advantage in second-chance points. The Generals' bench outscored MBU's, 27-11, and held a positive margin in fastbreak points, 21-14.
UP NEXT:
The Generals will break from games for a week before they get their first taste of ODAC play this season next Wednesday, November 20, at Roanoke at 7:00 p.m.
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.
